cub reporter issue 8
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Cub Reporter Issue 8TRANSCRIPT
REPORTERcub
Lawrence Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana Volume 63, Issue 8
February 17, 2012
Turn to page 14.
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PAGE 2 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER
3Contact us.Lawrence Central High School7300 E. 56th St.Indianapolis, IN 46226(317) 964-7400
Tell us.Letters to the editor are welcome, but they are limited to 200 words. The author’s name will be printed with the letter. Let-ters should not contain obscene or libelous language. Letters may be submitted in Room 132, placed in the mailbox of Cub Reporter adviser Elizabeth Granger or e-mailed to her at [email protected].
Purpose.To provide news to the Lawrence Central community.
Advertising.Businesses may advertise in the Cub Reporter if their ads adhere to guidelines. The advertising policy is available in Room 132 or via email at [email protected].
Staff.Editor-in-ChiefSamantha Strong
News EditorsCaroline VarieMeredith Varie
Opinions EditorsCarley LanichMeredith Nordmann
Features EditorsKatie BillmanSara Heiny
A+E EditorKevin Kryah
Sports EditorAlex Kryah
What’s insidenews
sports
arts+entertainment
opinions
138
1824
Clear, concise reporting on the good, the bad and the ugly. Someone’s got to do it.
Students’ perspectives on problems affecting Lawrence Central’s halls and the world beyond 56th Street.
In-depth coverage of students, global issues, rising trends and the not-so-average Bear.
Trends are changing, the popcorn’s popping and yesterday’s in is tomorrow’s out. Don’t worry; we’ll help you keep up.
Scores, matches, games, meets and touchdowns. Lawrence Central Bears are back and with a vengeance.
REPORTER
features
NEWS
Social Media EditorLane Creech
Online EditorsLeah ArenzColeman LaBarr
ReportersAvarie BowmanCandace BullockSally FinkelEsbeida FloresJacob HelmusGlynnis KingMolly LissKristen Swanson
AdviserElizabeth Granger
PrincipalThomas Oestreich
cub
Corrections.The Cub Reporter corrects its mistakes. If you believe the Cub Reporter made a mistake in a previous issue, please let us know by contacting a member of the staff or sending an email to [email protected].
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“I think it would be nice to have the longer breaks. I think a lot of people are ready for a longer break, especially at those times of year. And it will be nice when planning a vacation.”
Kristi Duffmedia assistant
“I don’t really care either way. We are still going to have to go
HANDSRAISEDRAISED
What students and teachers are saying about a modifi ed calendar:
to school.” Leigh-Anne Harr
sophomore
“I think it’s good because if we go to school a lot then we get kind of pressured, and if we have a break then we will be able to loosen up more.”
Ivan Rodriguezfreshman
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 3NEWS
Modi� ed calendar still being [email protected]
The MSD of Lawrence Township Board of Education voted Jan. 23 to implement a modifi ed calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. The decision was reached aft er the board voted in October 2011 to wait to make a fi nal decision on the cal-endar until, at the latest, Janu-ary of this year.
The January vote confi rms the use of a modifi ed calendar for the 2013-2014 school year, but the fi nal calendar will be presented and voted on at the February school board meeting.
The modifi ed calendar to go into eff ect in 2013 changed from the initial proposal in the fall. According to associate su-perintendent Janice Combs:
(1) Instead of two weeks back-to-back in the fall, there will be one full week in October and a full week at Thanksgiv-ing;
(2) Instead of two full weeks
for spring break, there will be one week – with the Thursday and Friday prior dedicated as built-in snow make-up days;
(3) The teacher and student start days were bumped back two days; and
(4) A teacher records day was built in for the Monday af-ter winter break, which means students will not return until that Tuesday.
Changes were made in part based on feedback from the public. The proposal presented at the January board meeting will be further modifi ed con-cerning the start of school, the reduction of spring break and removing a parent/teacher con-ference day that would have been held before the beginning of spring break.
The changes came aft er other district calendars were examined and a township-wide survey was conducted.
During the fall of 2011, MS-DLT conducted a parent survey. Approximately 1,200 parents
responded; 52 percent were in favor of a modifi ed calendar; 17 percent were in favor, with res-ervations; and 31 percent were opposed.
In addition to support from persons within the township, the change will align Law-rence Town-ship with other Mar-ion County schools and may save the dis-trict money. Combs said the Board is changing the calendar for 2013-14 for a few reasons:
(1) Area districts that have gone to this calendar have found that their publics like the calendar bett er than the traditional calendar;
(2) Area districts that have gone to this calendar have real-ized a 30 percent savings in sub-
“Janice Combs
associate superintendent of schools
...if we see the same 30 percent savings other districts have realized, that could mean $300,000 to the General Fund.”
stitute teacher costs (because of bett er teacher att endance);
(3) If MSDLT does not move in this direction, the district cal-endar will not align with other Marion County school districts.
Additionally, the change may allow students and staff the
opportunity to re-energize and rest through ex-tended breaks, Combs said.
All 11 Marion Coun-ty districts, Combs add-ed, will be on some form of a modifi ed cal-endar by 2013-2014.
“MSD Pike is a bit diff erent—they are con-tinuing their current practice of providing a balanced calen-dar option for their families,” Combs said. “Hancock and Hendricks County school sys-tems are also moving to a modi-
fi ed calendar.”Although a fi nal vote on the
modifi ed calendar is expected to be taken at the Feb. 27 school board meeting to determine the specifi cs of the 2013-2014 school year, further changes may come from the state legislature. Sev-eral bills have been writt en about the start date for all Indi-ana schools.
Currently, the bill in the Senate would require, if passed, schools to start aft er the fourth Monday of August. This start date has been moved earlier from initial proposals to have schools start aft er Labor Day.
The eff ects of such a bill, should it pass, are unknown for school systems with modifi ed calendars. “(Whether or not the start date would be aff ected) will depend upon the language of the law. Some language has been writt en that allows school districts who have moved away from a traditional calendar to apply for a waiver,” Combs said.
“It’s all right. I’ll like having an extra week for breaks.”
Christopher Youngjunior
“It’s fi ne with me. I’d like to know when my breaks start and end.”
Jamal Anthonysophomore
“I would like the extra breaks
during school year, but the shortened summer break would not be fun. The underclassmen are going to have ‘fun.’ ”
Barak Strahansenior
“I’ll be able to spend more time with family at Thanksgiving.”
Zach Mosierfreshman
Senior David Dunn has won fourth place in the Kiwanis (Down-town) Club of Indianapolis’ 37th annual Abe Lincoln scholarship awards program. He is the recipi-ent of a $5,000 scholarship.
According to Steve Willem, chairman of the awards committ ee, the scholarships honor students “who have proven, despite over-whelming personal diffi culties, that they can and will succeed.”
When he was very young,
Dunn was diagnosed with att ention defi cit hyperactivity disorder and a form of autism known as Asperg-er’s syndrome. He said his step-mother convinced him he could be a success in anything he wanted.
Dunn now carries a 4.37 GPA and is ranked No. 8 in his class. He has also earned awards for his work in music and in journalism.
Dunn plans to major in politi-cal science at DePauw University or Hanover College.
“It doesn’t matt er if you’re left -wing or right-wing,” Dunn said. “If you can’t see things from both sides, you will never fl y.”
Kiwanis honors DunnSpecial delivery
Tuesday’s celebration of Valentine’s Day brought
special messengers with special deliveries. The LC
Players sold ACTS OF LOVE and then delivered
roses and other Valen-tine’s Day goodies during the day. The funds raised will be used to pay for up-coming expenses for the theater production class.
Senior Valerie Tubbs delivers a rose to fresh-
man Brenda Aguilar. Cub photo/Colemann LaBarr
NEWSPAGE 4 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER
See related editorial Page 9
CarleyLanichcarleylanichcub@
CLASSROOM
Senior Reed Price received two Gold Keys, three Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention for his drawings. He also received a Silver Portfolio award. Price says that he fi nds everything around him to be inspiration. He was always artistic as a child, but he began taking his art more seriously in the seventh grade.
“I was so happy and so relieved when I heard about my Gold Key awards,” Price said. “And to know that all this hard work is paying off just made it that much better.”
“If I win at the national level or not, it’s a great achievement to even be moving on to nationals,” Price said. “It can open many doors for my artistic goals.”
Eight LC students are win-ners of the Central and South-ern Indiana Region of Scho-lastic Art Awards. Senior Reed Price and juniors Megan Hunt and Laura Coleman won top honors with Gold Keys.
Out of 185 Gold Keys, 227 Silver Keys and 361 Honorable Mentions awarded, LC brought home 11 Gold, 13 Silver and 11 Honorable Mentions.
Entries in the annual com-petition are judged on creativ-ity and originality. The Gold Key award is the highest rec-ognition for the regional level of the competition. Art is en-tered in several categories such as photography, mixed media,
Junior Megan Hunt won one Mixed Media Gold Key award and one Honorable Mention for Mixed Media. Hunt spends two to six weeks in class working on her art projects. Hunt noted that new skill develops with each project. Hunt learned of the Scholastic Art Competi-tion through her art teacher.
“My motivation to join the competition was curiosity to actually see how my pieces would be judged by professionals,” Hunt said. She was surprised when she learned of her achieve-
fashion and drawing. Winners of the Gold Key
regional award will move on to national judging in March for the chance to win a Gold Med-al, Silver Medal or American Visions and Voices Medal.
Winning artwork will be on display at Clowes Memorial Hall through Feb 26.
“All of the art teachers would like to congratulate their award winning students,” art teacher Vicki Shafer said. “They have worked diligently to take their art to this highly competi-tive level.”
Other LC winners are se-niors Kyle Becknel, Shaley Keller, Briana Davis and Esbei-da Flores, and junior Lindsey Redifer.Junior Laura Coleman won a Gold
Key award for a dress made en-tirely of magazines. Courtesy photos/LC Art Department
ment. Until now, Hunt said, she didn’t realize she had the potential for higher competition.“The contest results actually surprised me, because when I created the masking tape one
it was mainly for entertainment,” Hunt said. “I am rather relaxed for the fi nal judging because it is an accomplishment just to even be there in the fi rst place.”
Grabbing the ‘key’ to art success
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 5NEWS
Small team, large accomplishmentsJunior Samantha Strong
captured fi rst place in interna-tional extemporaneous and sec-ond in impromptu speaking at a Greensburg speech meet Jan. 16. Junior Adam Thorne came in sixth in dramatic interpreta-tion.
Unlike the football or bas-ketball teams, the speech team fl ies under the radar, largely because the team is so small —
there are only eight members. “Having such a small team is discouraging since the team has been much larger and stronger the past 10 years,” coach Julie Alexander said. “However, ... now that I’m no longer at LC — she works at Scecina High School — students don’t know me, and I’m not there to re-cruit. I am grateful for the kids I have and am proud of them.” There are eight events to com-pete in, but each team member can participate in just two. A
round of the competition con-sists of fi ve to eight speakers in each event with one judge listening to all of the speeches. Aft er each competitor has de-livered his speech, the judge will rank them from best, or a 1, to worst.
Aft er the fi rst round the speakers give the same speech again but to a diff erent judge, and the same process occurs for three more rounds.
Aft er the fourth round is complete each speaker earns a
cumulative score. If the speech received a 1 in all four rounds, then the total would be 4 points and just like in golf, the lowest score wins.
”The highlight for me this year so far is watching how much both (senior) Audrey Meyer and (junior) Adam Thorne have grown in their in-terp (interpretation) skills,” Al-exander said. “They are amaz-ing.”
The team’s next meet will be Feb. 25 at Columbus East.
Guards place in top � ve
Feb. 20: Presidents’ Day, no school Feb. 22: Freshman class ring meetings with Herff JonesFeb. 25: Lawrence Central ClassicFeb. 27: School board meeting, 7 p.m., LECCFeb. 28: Parent class ring meeting, 7:30 p.m., auditorium Feb. 29: Leap Day, which occurs in most years divisible by 4March 9: Variety Pops, 7 p.m., auditorium March 10: SAT, 8 a.m., enter LC through the Student Life Center
MA
RK
CALENDARYOUR
FOR PARENTS
Adult volunteers needed The PFO Breakfast Club needs parent volunteers for the breakfast table in the Commons. Volunteers are scheduled to work one morn-ing a month from 8 to 8:50 a.m. The job involves sett ing up the breakfast display, selling to students from 8:30 to 8:50, putt ing away unsold items, counting the money and turning in the day’s de-posit to the school treasurer. Volunteers are scheduled in teams of two and training is provided. If interested, con-tact Bev Fudge at 823-0203 or [email protected].
Snow day closings on website, local media outlets Schools were closed for four days in February 2011 because of bad weather. While this winter has been mind, snow days can still occur. The school district reminds families that infor-mation about school closings and/or delays will be posted on the school website, www.ltschools.org, by 6 a.m. In addition, the information will be available on local televi-sion and radio stations.
The Color Guard competi-tion season has offi cially begun. LC’s World Guard took home second place at the Scholas-tic World competition Feb. 11 at New Palestine, and the “A” guard fi nished in fourth place.
The World Guard and “A” Guard had placed second and third, respectively, in their fi rst competition at Brownsburg on Jan. 28.
The Cadet Guard, made up of 70 dancers from Belzer Mid-dle School, earned a silver at
New Palestine and placed third in their division at Borwnsburg.
The World Guard or var-sity show, “The Box,” is centered on nine boxes that are con-stantly mov-ing around the court. Sopho-more Allison Reid said, “We use one fl ag, … a whole bunch of weapons, mostly rifl es, and we have one saber part in the beginning.”
According to Reid, this
Guards place in top � veThe World Guard or varsity show, “The Box,” is centered on nine boxes that are constantly moving around the court. Courtesy photos/Meredyth Cross
show is “more of a crowd pleas-er this year,” and their results seem to be refl ecting that. Out of the fi ve judges, two placed the World Guard in fi rst place.
LC’s “A” or JV Guard has a show this year concentrated specifi cally on noise. “The Art of Noise” features four tarps that read “Noise,” “Poetry,” “Song” and “Rhythm.” Each word is paired with a song or poem, one of which is M.I.A.’s “Bird Flu.”
Freshman Abbie Anderson said, “It’s not a typical show … (the hardest part) is ‘Bird Flu’ because the tempo is so fast and it has advanced choreography.”
Color guard director Bec-ca Sullens guides the guards through rehearsals every other day at 6:45 a.m. to be ready for competitions on Saturday with an additional four-day over-night camp for World Guard.
The World Guard will con-tinue through the Indiana High School Color Guard Associa-tion competitions that will take them to state fi nals on March 17 with the “A” Guard.
They will then go on to the World Guard Inter-national com-petitions that will take them to the World C h a m p i o n -ships April 12-14.
Last year the World Guard placed eighth in State and the “A” Guard placed third.
The guard’s next competi-tion is Saturday in Danville.
“Abble Anderson
freshman
It’s not a typical show … the tempo is so fast and it has advanced choreography.”
Information compiled by CR staff
PAGE 6 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER NEWS
“Kristie Corn
associate principal
Eight percent of last year’s senior class graduated with waiv-ers.”
Wild WestCapturing the
spirit of the
Juniors in Michael Burr and Richard Phillipy’s U.S. history/English 11 honors classes took a trip back to the Wild, Wild West. With many in costume, students experienced the days of lassos, bandanas and horses through the decorated Studio Theatre and a chance to rope a cow from atop a saddled horse. Clockwise from left: Going in for the catch, junior Matt Dorsey prepares to rope Skinny the Cow. Junior Cassi King dresses the part. Burr helps junior Cole Hester saddle up on the fully outfi tted model horse. Cub photos/Brendan Haney
Waivers available but conditions apply SallyFinkelsallyfi [email protected]
Core 40 tests do not always determine whether a student graduates.
In many school districts, in-cluding Lawrence, high schools have the option to grant waiv-ers for students who cannot pass their end-of-the-year as-sessments but continue to put in the eff ort.
This does not mean that a student can fail the End of Course Assessments (ECA) and expect to get an easy pass to graduation.
According to associate prin-cipal Kristie Corn, there are fi ve components necessary to earn a waiver. To even be considered for a waiver, a student must fully meet all fi ve of these com-ponents:
• Have a solid 1.667 grade point average,
• have 95 percent att en-dance,
• have att ended several remediation sessions,
• have taken the ECA at least once a year, and
• have a math and/or English teacher sign off on pro-fi ciencies.
Corn said there is not a single exception to any of these fi ve components.
The waiver is a serious op-tion, she said, that helps many
students. There are students in our school who apply them-selves in class but just cannot pass the tests.
Corn said it is important to understand it isn’t a matt er of laziness that causes these students to seek a waiver.
S t u d e n t s who are look-ing at the pos-sibility of a waiver are switched from regular study halls into reme-diation study halls. In the re-mediation study halls, the stu-dents are assisted by teachers and tutors in subjects that need att ention.
These students have been
given a special privilege to complete their high school edu-cation with a diploma, when normally they would not have had that opportunity.
Before the deal is sealed, however, the students must att end a meet-ing with the principal who has the deci-sion to agree with the cir-c u m s t a n c e , or to veto the
idea in its entirety. Corn said that 8 percent of
last year’s senior class gradu-ated with waivers.
The waivers were created by Indiana’s legislature. When they were initiated, it wasn’t
known how long they were ex-pected to last.
Next year waivers may be discontinued by the state.
Corn said waivers have been benefi cial to students. The waivers are not used to boost graduation statistics in the state. “It’s more to help the kids,” Corn said. Corn said she talks to many sophomores about preparing for the English ECA. She also speaks to them about their grade point averages so there are no surprises come their se-nior year.
She said it is important for students to understand where their grades stand in order to graduate and that preparation is the key to gett ing the honor of walking.
Students cannot expect ‘to get an easy pass to graduation’
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 7NEWS
Número de detenciones fronterizas se redujeron
NEW
S
BRIEFSAuditions Wednesday Auditions for Variety Pops, LC’s annual talent show, will be 4-6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the auditorium. Instructions, information and a sign-up sheet are available on the door to Room 196. The show will be 7 p.m. March 9 in the auditorium.
AP registration to Feb. 25 Registration for the May AP (advanced placement) tests is to be completed in the bookstore by Feb. 25. The cost is $87 per exam. The state of Indiana will cover the cost of math and science exams for students who are enrolled in the classes. Students who receive free or reduced lunch can have their test fees waived in all subjects. They must indi-cate their F/RL status when completing the registration forms. After Feb. 25 a late fee of $40 will be charged; the abso-lute deadline for registering is March 9. AP testing is in the first half of May.
Key Club collecting shoes Key Club is collecting shoes and donations for an organization called Chang-ing Footprints. To help protect people from diseases and as a gateway to their education, the organization collects, sorts and donates shoes to the homeless, disas-ter-stricken and underprivi-leged in countries across the world as well as here locally in Indianapolis. Shoes of all kinds can be used. Donations may be left in Room 133 before the end of February.
Pennies aid patients Pennies for Patients, a fundraiser sponsored by the student council, is collecting spare change through March 2 to help leukemia patients.
Number of border arrests decrease
Viewing the decades
Los ar-restos en la frontera se redujeron con-siderablemente durante el año fiscal de 2011 m o s t r a n d o que el número de personas que intentan entrar ilegalmente a los Estados Unidos es mucho menor que en años anteriores. Durante el 2011 los agentes
fronterizos arrestaron un poco más de 327,000 personas a com-paración con los de el año 2000 que fueron más de un millón.
La economía de Estados Unidos ha estado en crisis los últimos 3 años reduciendo el incentivo de muchos por venir a trabajar en el país. Por otra parte, la cantidad de agentes fronterizos se ha duplicado en los últimos 7 años, llegando a la cifra record de 21,000.
Aparte de los uniformados, se ha reforzado la frontera con intercepción aérea, video cáma-
ras, censores en el suelo y otros elementos que hacen cada vez más difícil y costoso entrar al país.
Mientras tanto, un cambio importante en la política de manejo de inmigrantes ilegales capturados podría ser anun-ciado en pocas semanas. Ac-tualmente, los arrestados por las patrullas fronterizas son devueltos a México, al cruce más cercano. Pero las nuevas medidas podrían penalizar con cárcel a quienes sean arresta-dos. Con excepción de niños y
enfermos, los indocumentados podrían ser encarcelados de acuerdo a siete categorías que van desde aquellos que son ar-restados por primera vez hasta las personas con historial crimi-nal.
Lo seguro es que el in-greso de indocumentados a los Estados Unidos es mucho más difícil y menos deseable. Lo más probable es que las el-evadas cifras de indocumenta-dos tratando de cruzar la fron-tera cada año no se vea más en mucho tiempo.
This is the English translation of the column above.
The English 11 Honors and U.S. History Honors classes taught by Shari Jacobs and Judy Beckner strolled through the decades
last week with the aid of huge posters displayed in their hall. Juniors Scott Swingle and Sam Torres, top, attach a tie-dyed shirt and bell-
bottom jeans to their 1970s poster. And junior Khadeisha Boone adds a camouflage jacket and helmet to the 1940s. Popular vote
chose the 1850s display, done by Klrissa Basham, Laura Coleman, Alyssia Dawson, Meliyah Harris, Megan Hunt and Allie Powell, as
the classes’ winner. Cub photos/Coleman LaBarr.
The number of arrests on the border reduced consider-ably during the 2011 fiscal year demonstrating that the number of persons who are attempt-ing to enter the United States illegally is much lower than in years past.
During 2011, the border authorities arrested only a few more than 327,000 persons as compared to 2000, when more than a million persons were ar-
rested.The economy of the United
States has been in a crisis for the last three years reducing the in-centive for many to come and to work in the country. For an-other part, the quantity of bor-der authorities has doubled in the last seven years, reaching a record 21,000.
Apart from the uniformed officers, the border has been re-inforced with air interception, video cameras, ground sensors and other elements that make
it more and more difficult and costly to enter the country.
Meanwhile, an important political change in policy that manages captured illegal immi-grants could be announced in a few weeks.
Currently, the arrests by the border patrol are returned to Mexico, after crossing closely. But the new measures could pe-nalize illegal immigrants with imprisonment by those who ar-rest them.
With the exception of chil-
dren and those who are sick, undocumented persons could be incarcerated according to seven categories ranging from those who are arrested for the first time to people with crimi-nal records.
What is certain is that the entry of illegal immigrants into the United States is much more difficult and much less desirable. Most likely, elevated numbers of aliens attempting to cross the border each year will not be seen in the future.
Information compiledby Cub Reporter staff
PAGE 8 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER OPINIONS
Auto Service Technology
McKenzie Career Center If you are interested in a career in the automotive profession then we are your ticket to the future. We train entry-level technicians, parts personnel and service advisors. This is a two-year course. Our first year class is open to students who will be sophomores and juniors next year. Our students have the opportunity to get six college credits at IVTC College & Vincennes University through the automotive associate degreed course for free. There is a paid internship available for second year students. Check it out at www.ayes.org. Students need to fill out an application and get it to their counselor ASAP. Applications should be submitted to auto instructor Don Sheets @ McKenzie Center ASAP.
Just a minute with...
Got a minute? Then we’ve got some questions. With 2,600 students, it’s tough to know everyone. We’re tak-ing a minute to get to know our student body. Match each student’s number with the corresponding numbers on the answers. Watch out, you could be next.
What is the last book you read?1) Ender’s Game2) Beowulf 3) Eragon Series 4) Urban Books5) Feed6) To Kill a Mocking-bird7) Dr. Seuss 8) Hunger Games
What’s your favorite class?1) AP Stats2) Pre-Calculus3) Interdisc English/Geography4) Business Management5) Algebra 26) Study Hall7) Math8)Gym
What was the last movie you saw?1) Tangled2) Paranormal Activity 33) Sherlock Holmes 24) Red Tails5) Sherlock Holmes 26) Shottas7) Love Don’t Cost a Thing8) Underworld Evolution
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see play the lead role as you?1) Vin Diesel2) Omar Epps3) Jim Carrey4) Tasha Smith5) Taraji Henson6) Mike Epps7) Kelly Rowland8) 50 Cent
If you could be a character in any TV show, what should would you be in?1) Psych2) Family Guy3) The Mentalist4) Good Times5) Adventure Time6) Boondocks7) Spongebob8) Boondocks
5) Danae Ligginssophomore
3) William Elliottjunior
6) Frank O’Banion sophomore
4) Asmaa Fullen junior
2) Jared Dinkins senior
1) Maxie Saxtonsenior
7) La’vasia Jonesfreshman
8) Jordan Richard freshman
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 9EDITORIAL
Hugs to the Giants winning, but growls to the end of Indy’s Super Bowl festivities.
Hugs to Groundhog Day, but growls to six more weeks of cold weather.
Hugs to the Super Bowl being in Indy, but growls to the Giants winning.
Hugs to after-school ac-tivities, but growls to loads of homework.
Hugs to great weather for the Super Bowl, but growls to the chilly times ahead.
Hugs to driving and texting, but growls to texting while driv-ing.
Hugs to Temple Run, but growls to Demon Monkeys.
Hugs to Friday nights, but growls to Monday mornings.
Hugs to not getting much snow this winter, but growls to not having a snow day.
Hugs to winter sports, but growls to them coming to an end.
Hugs to Spring Break, but growls to waiting another month for it.
Hugs to hot chocolate on a cold day, but growls to not hav-ing any marshmallows.
• Driving accidents due to using a cell phone shouldn’t be a problem in America anymore. Every state should have laws in place that ban all cell phone use while driving, regard-less of age. Neither teenagers nor adults are experienced enough to bal-ance both activities; it’s not worth it.• It’s really cool that so many LC students have been recognized for their art. The student body may not be aware of how talented some of our artists are, but they should; we care so much more about sports than arts of any kind. Nothing against sports, as they’re all great, but stu-dents should appreciate all aspects of the school.• Texting and driving is dangerous, period. Driving alone is multi-task-ing, but adding a phone to the mix is just plain wrong. Not only are you
30-second editorialsputt ing your life in danger, but the lives of those in your car and those of other drivers. It makes more sense to just focus on the road. That text can wait. Your life is worth it.• Social Networking isn’t going away anytime soon. Yes, it is quite a distraction when it comes to gett ing things done, homework for example, but to say we’re bett er off without it is ridiculous. Facebook has made planning events much more easy and organized. Using sites like Twitt er and YouTube can help you reach out to large numbers of people. Ultimate-ly, social networking has brought the world closer together, making communication as easy as one, two, three.•Black History Month celebrates the history and success of African-Americans as a community. There
Letters to the editorThe Cub Reporter accepts and
encourages public input through letters to the editor. The letters are to voice opinions or concerns to the Cub Reporter’s audience. Letters including libelous or obscene materials will not be printed. Like all materials in the publication, letters refl ecting criticism should criticize issues, not individuals.
No letter will be printed without positive ID.
The Cub reserves the right to edit comments for grammatical errors and for length as long as it does not alter the meaning of the comments.
Letters must be signed and will be printed with the author’s name. Requests for anonymity of the letters’ authors will be denied.
Growls
Hugs
ANDBring the focus back to the students
were many great minds such as Mar-tin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks that helped shape our society into how it is today. Without these great minds many years ago society would have a very diff erent view on race. Black History Month should con-tinue to be celebrated and our school should do a bett er job on educating students about the history, culture, and heritage of African Americans.•The LC wrestling team has really come on strong this postseason. Six wrestlers moved on from regionals and into semi-state, three of which were regional champions. And one has qualifi ed for state for the fi rst time since Dominique Butt s went in 2009. Keep it up, wrestlers!
“We need to create a third category of character - stu-dents of charac-ter.”
The spotlight sways from the students on the stage to the stu-dents on the fi eld; however, the students in the classroom remain under the dim fl uorescent light bulb shinning monotonously on any given school day.
We honor athletes of char-acter and performing artists of character; however, other students of character are left in the shadows of their books and binders. While, yes, the top 30 of the senior class are hon-ored and cel-ebrated annu-ally, students involved in academic ac-tivities worth celebrating are too oft en over-looked. The students involved in robotics, who travel to a national tourna-ment every year; in Academic Super Bowl, reading up to four novels for a single competition; or Brain Game, art, journalism, the speech team…, the list goes on and on. These students’ hard work, time and eff ort go un-noticed. But more importantly, their achievements go unnoticed.
The Bears’ Athletic Club (BAC) and Lawrence Central Performing Arts Association (LCPAA) have made it no small task to emphasize the success of their programs. Mounds of Bear Wear were advertised when the football team fought their way to State in 2010; meanwhile, when the speech team made it to State in 2011, with a member earning his way into the national tournament, nothing but a small
announcement was made one morning. Like the students backed by LCPAA and BAC, students involved in academics de-serve the rec-ognition and
support of parents, volunteers and their peers. The students cannot do it alone. They deserve the recognition their athletic and performing arts counterparts receive. By creating an organiza-tion similar to BAC or LCPAA, but focused on students’ aca-demic involvement, funds can be raised and att ention can be focused on their hard work and
achievements. Countless
performing arts trophies glimmer in the Hall of Fame. Plaques, photos and trophies earned by our athletes gleam in the athletic cor-ridor. However, academic recog-nition is simply Top 30 photos for each senior class. Even the top 10 students of each class are no lon-ger recognized.
While a well-rounded student body is worthy of applause, school is a place of education. School is meant for students to broaden their minds and expand their base of knowledge. Schools are scrutinized based upon their academic achievement, not their marching bands or football teams.
We need to create a third cat-egory of character – students of
character. It is time for the excelling
academic teams to be acknowl-edged for their achievements. It is time for the students who succeed in the classroom to be recognized. It is time for the student athletes and perform-ing artists to share their spot-light.
Students
See related stories on Pages 14, 4, 13, 11, 25
PAGE 10 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER OPINIONS
peak Your Mind: Modified CalendarS AllBe
ar it“No me gusta español.” Lauren Hibbler, 10
“Just remember you’re unique. Just like everybody else.”
Connor Tuthill, 11
“I love Kendall Homan!” Angelica Torres, 10
“‘I’m worth 12 of you, Mal-foy.’”
Afton Goins, 12
“It is what it is.”Kendall Homan, 10
“All is fair in love and fash-ion.”
Emma Engler, 9
“If you can’t find something to live for, then you better find something to die for.”
Joe Leyden, 10
“If beavers ruled the world we’d no longer have the cheese danish.”
Rebecca Duke, 11
We spend roughly eight hours a day at school, not
mentioning the time put in for athletics and extracurriculars. LC, for many of us, is a home away from home. So then why does it seem like the LC name carries such a negative conno-tation with it?
Sure, LC has its trouble-some students, but so do most other high schools. Just because there may be a few rot-ten bananas doesn’t mean the whole bunch is bad.
But what’s even more trou-bling is that when I tell friends from other schools where I go, I often hear, “Oh, you go to LC.? Isn’t that school re-ally ghetto?” And to make it even worse, I sometimes hear these very words in the LC halls.
LC is not ghetto. LC is diverse. With a student body of more than 2,500 students, there are many different people and cultures. Everyone has a dif-
ferent background or passion, and I love hearing their stories. How boring it would be if we were all the same.
It’s true that I’m probably a bit biased. I’ve never been to another school. But with all of the award-winning sports and activi-ties LC has to offer, there’s
always something going on and something that you can get involved in. LC, being the large school that it is, provides many opportunities that you
wouldn’t ordinarily find in a small school.
Additionally, for the most part, I find LC students to be welcoming. Yes, there are cliques, but within those cliques are families. These are the people you see every day and couldn’t live without.
Before you decide to bash LC, think about it. There is no other school quite like ours. It’s truly a privilege to be an LC student.
So, next time you hear somebody say, “Oh, you go to LC?” don’t just shy away.
Tell them you’re proud to be a Bear.
We should be proud to be BearsThinkingAloud
“There is no school quite like ours. It’s truly a privilege to be an LC student.”
See related news story Page 3
1) How do you feel about a year-round schedule?
2) Why do you feel this way?
3) What would you tell someone who thought the opposite?
4) Do you think you learn more or retain more on a year-round schedule?
1) No.2) I don’t like school.3) Try harder.4) I don’t think so.
1) I prefer it.2) More break time.3) To enjoy a shorter summer.4) Probably, yeah.
1) I don’t like it.2) Summer is my favorite, I want it
longer.3)There are more
things to do in summer.
4) Definitely.
freshmanCameron Garrett
sophomore
1) That’d be dumb, not good.
2) I get burnt out, I need
summer.3) They’re
entitled to their own opinion.
4) Nah..
Jordan Meenanjunior
Grant Sterchijunior
1) It would be good.
2) It wouldn’t make school seem
as long.3) That it’s better
4) I would retain more.
Christian Fleece
1) No way. I would hate it.2) I need a break from school.3) You’re dumb.4) Yeah, I forget a lot of stuff.
Aaron Massengillsophomore
1) No. 2) I like a long summer.3)Ask why they’d want a longer winter break.4) Yes.
Josue Lopezfreshman
seniorDestiny Casson
1) Not necessary.2) Summer is a good stress
reliever.3) I wouldn’t
oppose it.4) Kids will learn
and it’s up to them.
Monica Guerrero
senior
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 11OPINIONS
hardly learn about black leaders and inventors. Instead of addressing the problem that is our educational system, we continue on with black history month with hopes that it will soothe the cries of African-Americans who yearn for a litt le bit more equality in their everyday lives.
The idea that basically an extended Martin Luther King Jr. day will suffi ce for over 100 years of African-American history is insane. Anyone can agree that our nation — and school — is extremely diverse, and the lack of history about anything besides the one-sided story we read in textbooks makes no sense. Supplementing this defi ciency with a month is dabbing at the problem.
Simply put, in the words of Kanye West: “Make black history every day; I don’t need a month.”
“Yes, I do, to show respect and thanks for all the black Americans who slaved and went through a lot to stop slavery and segregation.”
“If there’s going to be a Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, and Asian month, then yes. That’s equality.”
Dion Jones, 12
Facing the subject: Do you think there should be a Black History Month?
Cub photos/Glynnis King
“Yes, because blacks used to be minorities and now they’re not because they fought for what was right.”
“Yes, black his-tory month tells about our history and celebrates what happened in the past to put light in the future.
Jameson Berry, 11Alana Jones, 10Dajsha Brown, 9
West: “Make black history every day; I West: “Make black history every day; I West: “Make black history every day; I West: “Make black history every day; I
Topic: Should there be a Black History Month?
FACE OFF
Cub g
raph
ic/Gl
ynni
s Kin
g
many schools take time to recognize and remember several African-American leaders of our nation.
For example, someone may read a fact about a historical African-American each day.
Taking the time to celebrate during this month is a good way to show our appreciation for the African-American race. It’s also a time to learn about all the achievements that African-Americans have done over many years of struggle.
However, there is also some controversy as to why African-Americans have a particular month to be recognized. Some critics think it is OK to have this month to be recognized while others disagree, saying it’s not fair to have the shortest month of the year be the month to celebrate black history.
In my opinion, having this month to celebrate is a great opportunity no matt er how short it may be. I say make the most of it and learn all you can.
There is a lot of important history to learn about African-Americans that schools and textbooks don’t cover. So this month ask a friend, relative, or do a litt le research of your own.
Let’s continue to show our appreciation and not forget about the importance of Black History Month.
The idea of Black History Month came along in 1926 when Carter G. Woodson realized the absence of black history in history books. So he wrote his own rendition of the history of black people and made one week in February “black history week” to teach people what he wrote in that book. In the 1920s segregation was alive and people would not know anything about black history without that week.
But now, society is diff erent. The meaning has been lost, and the extent of what is taught in school about black history during this month barely goes beyond Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. I assure you that 99 percent of you didn’t know how black history began.
One could argue that in a society where we focus on equal rights, this month makes people “more equal,” and I can agree with that. I mean, there isn’t any white history month to speak of (even though that’s because we learn white history in class.)
Our education system still lacks a suffi cient amount of history about African-Americans.
Yes, we read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and learn a bit about slavery, but we
The month of February is a busy month considering it’s the shortest and sweetest of the year (Valentine’s Day).
But that doesn’t stop the groundhog from seeing his
shadow, or the millions of NFL fans from camping out in front of their televisions
anxiously awaiting
the Super Bowl.
With all of these exciting events happening during this
month, there’s one major event that
can’t be forgott en: Black History Month.
Black History Month is an important
time to recognize and celebrate the history, culture
and achievements of African-American heritage.
Since 1976, every U.S. president has made the month of February Black History Month. During this month
PAGE 12 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER OPINIONS
be so successful.” LC deserves to win in
every aspect of our school, but in the end it’s up to us. We must applaud our wins and learn from our losses. As American author Richard Bach said, “That’s what learning is, after all; not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we’ve changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curious way, is winning.”
From theInside
Lawrence Central #winning
‘Curl’ your enthusiasm
“...when curly hair dries, it’s like the frizz apocalypse.”
There are five seconds left on the clock. Five…the ball rebounds off the basket. Four…the home team grabs the ball. Three… the star player darts toward the basket. Two… the score is 73-74. One… The ball soars through the air… We all know the story. The basket is made, and zero… the crowd goes crazy. The alternative ending to this tale, however, is different. One… the ball soars through the wait, hits the rim, and dribbles quietly on the ground. Zero… Silence.
Most school crowds would react this way. They see the
game only as a win-lose situation. You either win, or you lose. This year at our school, we should
only be a win-win crowd. Our school
spirit has increased
noticeably in
comparison to last year,
and hopefully, this pattern will continue. The loudness and
excitement of our school spirit on and off the court portrays our true feelings about Lawrence Central. Regardless of the final score of the game, we should
be proud of our students. The fact that an LC Bear would strive for the last second shot defines how much we want to win for LC.
Whether you want to believe it or not, it is a fact. We work hard to be a successful school because in the end, we all care. School spirit can be the line between having a team, and having a team cut. Athletics give our students a chance to win, but without a team, that opportunity isn’t there.
In the school year of 2009-2010 the school was forced into taking a tragic loss. The LC gymnastics team was taken off the sports roster. For many of the students, this was the only competition that was truly titled a defeat.
“Things were being cut everywhere,” athletic director Sandra Walter said. “Everyone took a loss, and we took a big loss.”
The gymnastics team was a
goal for many of the gymnasts here. Sophomore Makayla Johnson always wanted to participate on the team, but it was cut during her eighth grade year.
For those of us in any sort of extra-curricular activity, think of the family we have
made. I know I wouldn’t want my orchestra family, my Cub family, or my Key Club family to have to experience the same ending
as the gymnastics family. With more school spirit, it is with hope that we will not have to experience the same fate. Luckily, this sort of outcome will not happen again for quite some time due to financial support.
“Our board has been very supportive of our athletics,” Walter said. “I’ve never seen us
“We work hard to be a successful school because in the end, we all care.”
Frieda from Charlie Brown once said, “People always expect more of you when you have naturally curly hair.” As a person with naturally curly hair, I can completely agree with Frieda on this subject, and here’s why.
When the air turns warm and school has ended, a favorite summer activity is to go swimming. While this is super fun, when you get out of the pool you are faced with a dilemma. It’s called pool hair. Chlorine always
has an interesting effect on everybody’s hair, but especially on curly hair. A person with straight hair probably can deal with pool hair relatively well, but when curly hair dries, it’s like the frizz apocalypse.
It’s the same with rain. Rain and curly hair do not get along at all. If you’ve ever seen a cat really freaked out and its fur fluffs up to about three times its normal size, that’s what I’m talking about.
This probably all happens because curly hair has a mind of its own. Sometimes it just decides it wants to stick up or out, or in directions I didn’t even know were physically
possible, but I digress.There’s also the wind
problem. I’m not sure what the world’s natural elements have against curly hair, but obviously they have some sort of history.
Magazines also have ultra-high expectations of people with curly hair. I don’t know if they think those of us with
curly hair already know every curly hair trick in the book, but they sure act like it. Pretty much all the tips for hair
in magazines only work if you have straight or slightly wavy hair. For example, if I put my hair in small wet braids overnight, I will not wake up
with loose waves. I know this from experience because a few years ago I tried it, and it didn’t work. I ended up with separated sections of hair with a weird looking crimp to them. It also happened to be picture day; ah, that was a good day.
Not that I don’t love my curly hair—I really do—I’m just saying that Frieda’s quote is completely true. People with curly hair go through a lot of trials and tribulations. But in the end, it’s nice to have curly hair. It gives a person character, and also it’s a known fact that people with curly hair are 60 percent smarter than those with straight hair. Actually, I just made that up, but it’s probably true somewhere.
LC’s athletic teams earn many trophies for their outstanding per-formances in games and competi-tions. Cub photo/Sally Finkel
400 million active users
130 friends people have on average
100 million active users currently access Facebook
on their mobile phones
60 million status updates are posted each day
55 minutes are spent on the site each day
50% of active users log on each day
35 million users update their status each day
20 million people become fans of pages each day
3.5 million events are created each month
3 million active pages
Facebook by the numbers:
FEATURES CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 13
d i s c o n n e c t e dStudents relinquish social networking through Facebook and Twitter
In a world where communication is key, joining the social networking movement has become essential to staying in tune with what’s happening around the world. Websites like Facebook and Twitt er have more than 400 million users (as of 2010) who are constantly updating statuses about their lives. But what if they weren’t available? For many students, this scenario is hard to imagine.
“Social networking connects people. You are able to fi nd out when people’s birthdays are, you’re able to see pictures of your distant relatives and talk to friends. It’s important for maintaining connections with people who are far away. It basically keeps you connected,” senior Jared Robinson said.
According to Robinson, being connected through Facebook doesn’t only keep you from committ ing “social suicide,” but it also keeps you in the know about family members and friends that may live far away.
“Facebook and Twitt er can be used for good; it’s just that people use it to update about what they’re eating and when they’re going to the bathroom, which isn’t using the technology for all that it’s worth,” Robinson said.
Senior Maddy Griffi n feels the same. However, although she has both a Facebook and a Twitt er, she doesn’t use them.
“If people want to talk to me, they’ll just call me or I’ll get an e-mail saying they are trying to reach me via Facebook,” Griffi n said.
Unlike Robinson, Griffi n doesn’t feel that Facebook connects family any more than personally calling them and asking for an update. Most of Griffi n’s family contacts each other by calling or texting, so the use of social networking is unnecessary.
“I’m not completely against all things Facebook, but I do think that the communication on those websites gets in the way of natural communication. People speak in ‘text-talk’ and they think that just because you ‘like’ someone’s status or they added you as friend that you all of a sudden know each other,” Griffi n said.
According to Griffi n, the only reason she made a Facebook her freshman year was because everyone was making them. Her Facebook had more activity during her freshman year than any other year because everybody played the games
with each other. But the novelty of being able to add friends and play games wore off .
“Facebook has kind of the same statuses over and over again. No one says anything original and Twitt er is the same. People update about trivial stuff . I can’t really get into it,” Griffi n said.
Griffi n said there are many conversations that go on in school that talk about stuff that happened on Facebook, but she doesn’t feel like she is missing out on much.
“I understand it is a way to communicate and express yourself, but you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, so I choose not to partake in it,” Griffi n said.
Source/http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-facts-fi gures-for-2010/
Cub graphic/Candace Bullock
“...the communication on those websites gets in the way of natural communication.”
Maddy Griffi nsenior
Choosing to be
FEATURES PAGE 15 CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012PAGE 14Te
xtin
gan
d D
rivin
g
Senior Lauren Hebel was in her car, driving to school, when she remembered that she had lent a textbook to a friend. She realized she’d need the book in school that day.
In a hurry and hoping to catch her friend still at home, Hebel whipped out her cell phone to send a text message about the book. As Hebel looked away from the road to send the short text, she swerved into oncoming traffi c.
Hebel looked up just in time to jerk her car back into the right lane. Although she was fi ne, she said the incident scared her enough to put the phone away when behind the wheel.
“I have never been so close to an accident before. I won’t make that mistake again,” Hebel said.
Texting while driving has become an epidemic due to the increased popularity of cell phones and text messaging. In a 2011 Harris Poll, 60 percent of drivers admitt ed to using a cell phone while driving, and 49 percent of drivers admitt ed to sending or reading texts when behind the wheel.
According to Channel One News, more than 5,000 people died due to texting while driving in 2009, and more than 450,000 were injured.
Texting while driving can be as dangerous as driving while under the infl uence of alcohol. A study done at the University of Utah found that texting while driving delays responses as much as having a BAC (blood alcohol content) level of 0.08 (Indiana’s legal limit.)
In other words, drivers can be as impaired by texting while driving as if they were intoxicated.
One of the biggest issues with texting while driving is that teens know the risks but believe they have control over the situation.
“I know texting and driving is dangerous. I just didn’t think that it would cause me to almost run into another car head-on,” Hebel said.
According to a AAA survey, 32 percent of teens have the same view that Hebel does.
The government and media have recognized that texting while driving is an important issue. Many state governments ban either texting or all cell phone usage while driving. Indiana is one of the states that has a texting ban for drivers of all ages.
For drivers under 18, all hand-held communication devices are
banned in non-emergency instances. This includes talking on a phone.
Laws like these are in place to discourage drivers from texting behind the wheel. The fi ne in Indiana for texting while driving is up to $500.
According to Lawrence Police Department Communications Director Gary Woodruff , not a lot of citations are actually given for texting and driving.
The purpose of the increased regulation is ultimately to heighten awareness about the dangers of texting while driving.
As far as proving somebody was texting while driving, “We generally do not
look at somebody’s phone unless we actually observe them texting while driving,” Woodruff said.
Generally, the only time the police department would search a person’s phone is in the case of bodily injury. The police department would then obtain a search warrant for the phone records.
There have also been several public service announcements with celebrity endorsers encouraging drivers to “X the Txt.” In other
Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off of the road while texting. When traveling at 55 mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football fi eld. (2009, VTTI) Cub photo/Lane Creech
matter of
“I have never been so close to an accident before.”
Lauren Hebelsenior
by the Numbers
Keep your eyes on the road
- Keep your phone out of reach, like in the trunk or glove compartment.
- Pull over to somewhere safe to send or read texts.
- Silence your phone or turn it off completely so you won’t be tempted to pick it up.
- Download an app on your smart phone to prevent cell phone usage while driving.
- Have a designated passenger to send or read important texts.
Source/stoptextsstopwrecks.org
34%of teens admit to
texting while driving
35states that limit
texting while driving
91%decrease in steering
capability when texting
11teens killed every day
from texting and driving
35%decrease in reaction time when texting and driving
23times more likely to crash when texting
of crashes are due to 3 seconds of inattention
80%
Source/textinganddrivingstatistics.com, textingndriving.com, MCT Campus
$500maximum fi ne in Ind. for texting and driving
words, endorsers advocate waiting until they are out of the car to send texts.
There is currently a bill called the STANDUP Act that lawmakers and supporters of more teen driving restrictions are trying to have passed.
This act would require all states to meet certain standards when it comes to teen driving regulations. This act addresses curfews and when full driving privileges can be obtained.
Allstate Insurance is a supporter of the STANDUP act and more regulations for teen drivers. Allstate off ers a Teen Driver Pledge as well as startling facts about distracted driving.
Keep the Drive (www.KeeptheDrive.com), also sponsored by Allstate, is a teen-led organization that encourages teens to keep their eyes on the road. The group encourages teens across the country to participate in spreading the message.
The website off ers posters, facts and other tools to assist in spreading the word, “to help you raise some eyebrows and awareness.”
This texting while driving epidemic plagues tech-savvy adults as well as it does teens.
“Oh man, I do that (text) and I really need to stop,” principal Thomas Oestreich said.
Life or Death
Source/textinganddrivingstatistics.com, textingndriving.com,
- Buy a car with a manual shift, which makes it hard to text and drive.
- Consider the effects of texting and driving, which impairs drivers similarly to driving while intoxicated.
- Let your friends know that you’re trying to break the habit of texting and driving so they can support and help you.
FEATURES PAGE 15 CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012PAGE 14
Text
ing
and
Driv
ing
Senior Lauren Hebel was in her car, driving to school, when she remembered that she had lent a textbook to a friend. She realized she’d need the book in school that day.
In a hurry and hoping to catch her friend still at home, Hebel whipped out her cell phone to send a text message about the book. As Hebel looked away from the road to send the short text, she swerved into oncoming traffi c.
Hebel looked up just in time to jerk her car back into the right lane. Although she was fi ne, she said the incident scared her enough to put the phone away when behind the wheel.
“I have never been so close to an accident before. I won’t make that mistake again,” Hebel said.
Texting while driving has become an epidemic due to the increased popularity of cell phones and text messaging. In a 2011 Harris Poll, 60 percent of drivers admitt ed to using a cell phone while driving, and 49 percent of drivers admitt ed to sending or reading texts when behind the wheel.
According to Channel One News, more than 5,000 people died due to texting while driving in 2009, and more than 450,000 were injured.
Texting while driving can be as dangerous as driving while under the infl uence of alcohol. A study done at the University of Utah found that texting while driving delays responses as much as having a BAC (blood alcohol content) level of 0.08 (Indiana’s legal limit.)
In other words, drivers can be as impaired by texting while driving as if they were intoxicated.
One of the biggest issues with texting while driving is that teens know the risks but believe they have control over the situation.
“I know texting and driving is dangerous. I just didn’t think that it would cause me to almost run into another car head-on,” Hebel said.
According to a AAA survey, 32 percent of teens have the same view that Hebel does.
The government and media have recognized that texting while driving is an important issue. Many state governments ban either texting or all cell phone usage while driving. Indiana is one of the states that has a texting ban for drivers of all ages.
For drivers under 18, all hand-held communication devices are
banned in non-emergency instances. This includes talking on a phone.
Laws like these are in place to discourage drivers from texting behind the wheel. The fi ne in Indiana for texting while driving is up to $500.
According to Lawrence Police Department Communications Director Gary Woodruff , not a lot of citations are actually given for texting and driving.
The purpose of the increased regulation is ultimately to heighten awareness about the dangers of texting while driving.
As far as proving somebody was texting while driving, “We generally do not
look at somebody’s phone unless we actually observe them texting while driving,” Woodruff said.
Generally, the only time the police department would search a person’s phone is in the case of bodily injury. The police department would then obtain a search warrant for the phone records.
There have also been several public service announcements with celebrity endorsers encouraging drivers to “X the Txt.” In other
Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off of the road while texting. When traveling at 55 mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football fi eld. (2009, VTTI) Cub photo/Lane Creech
matter of
“I have never been so close to an accident before.”
Lauren Hebelsenior
by the Numbers
Keep your eyes on the road
- Keep your phone out of reach, like in the trunk or glove compartment.
- Pull over to somewhere safe to send or read texts.
- Silence your phone or turn it off completely so you won’t be tempted to pick it up.
- Download an app on your smart phone to prevent cell phone usage while driving.
- Have a designated passenger to send or read important texts.
Source/stoptextsstopwrecks.org
34%of teens admit to
texting while driving
35states that limit
texting while driving
91%decrease in steering
capability when texting
11teens killed every day
from texting and driving
35%decrease in reaction time when texting and driving
23times more likely to crash when texting
of crashes are due to 3 seconds of inattention
80%
Source/textinganddrivingstatistics.com, textingndriving.com, MCT Campus
$500maximum fi ne in Ind. for texting and driving
words, endorsers advocate waiting until they are out of the car to send texts.
There is currently a bill called the STANDUP Act that lawmakers and supporters of more teen driving restrictions are trying to have passed.
This act would require all states to meet certain standards when it comes to teen driving regulations. This act addresses curfews and when full driving privileges can be obtained.
Allstate Insurance is a supporter of the STANDUP act and more regulations for teen drivers. Allstate off ers a Teen Driver Pledge as well as startling facts about distracted driving.
Keep the Drive (www.KeeptheDrive.com), also sponsored by Allstate, is a teen-led organization that encourages teens to keep their eyes on the road. The group encourages teens across the country to participate in spreading the message.
The website off ers posters, facts and other tools to assist in spreading the word, “to help you raise some eyebrows and awareness.”
This texting while driving epidemic plagues tech-savvy adults as well as it does teens.
“Oh man, I do that (text) and I really need to stop,” principal Thomas Oestreich said.
Life or Death
Source/textinganddrivingstatistics.com, textingndriving.com,
- Buy a car with a manual shift, which makes it hard to text and drive.
- Consider the effects of texting and driving, which impairs drivers similarly to driving while intoxicated.
- Let your friends know that you’re trying to break the habit of texting and driving so they can support and help you.
FEATURESPAGE 16 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER
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“It didn’t hit me until we were coming in through the Patriots’ tunnel and I saw all the people and thought, ‘Is this really happening?’”
These were the thoughts of ARC coordinator Deidre Gray right before she emerged to perform with Madonna in the Super Bowl’s half-time show.
Gray was referred to per-form in Madonna’s half-time stage performance because of her work in the Indianapolis gospel scene. This allowed her and her fellow choir members to earn a position in the choir of “Like a Prayer.”
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and I will never for-get it,” Gray said.
In the choir performing the song, “Like a Prayer,” there were more than 200 members. There were nearly 500 mem-
bers in the entire cast making it the largest ensemble ever to perform for a Super Bowl. It was also the fi rst Super Bowl that was streamed online.
In order to prepare for the show, Gray att ended rehearsals every day the week before-hand. They rehearsed for long hours in the earlier part of the week, with stand-ins for art-ists like Cee-Lo Green, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj and LMFAO until they arrived later in the week. Once they arrived, they only had two full dress rehears-als. According to Gray, the momentum built as the week progressed.
“Even though I had seen the show a couple of times before, it still felt like I was see-ing the show for the fi rst time,” Gray said.
According to Gray, who spends a lot of her time in the performing arts, this was liter-ally a dream come true. The choir that Deidre Gray was a part of surrounds Madonna and Cee-Lo Green during the song, ‘Like a
Prayer’ in the Super Bowl half-time show. Source/MCT Campus
‘Something to remember’
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 17FEATURESFEATURES
of WATERThe power
Two young boys in Sudan experience access to clean water an hour’s walk away from home. Rahma-ny’s students are raising money to cre-ate a scene like this: a village full of changed lives. Sources/thewaterproject.org
• Visit the One Drop at a Time’s donation page at thewaterproject.org/community/profi le/ jamie-rahmany
• Contact Jamie Rahmany at [email protected]• Follow their progress on their Facebook page, One Drop at a Time• Stay in tune through their blog page at iheartcleanwater.tumblr.com• Buy a button for $3 from the students
If they come up short at the end of the year, The Water Project will connect them with another group to combine funds and reach their goal.
Funds Raised: $1,705
Goal: $6,500
Contaminated water from swamps is often the only accessible water. Children like this Rwandan girl spend the majority of their time collecting water instead of learning in a classroom. Lack of education leads to unem-ployment and poverty in the future. With a well, this child could potentially have more time in the classroom and avoid poverty in the future.
Don
ate
to the Cause
Cub graphic/Caroline Varie
Jamie Rahmany, a sixth grade teacher at Lawrence Township’s Sunnyside School for International Studies, is teaching her students more than math, science, reading or writing. Her students are learning about the art of saving lives — through water.
At the beginning of the school year, Rahmany asked her students to research the top 10 problems facing children their age. They found a reoc-curring issue: water. The stu-dents discovered that economy, education, health and poverty are all linked to water.
“We looked at problems that kids our age face around the world, and we felt the most moved by The Water Project and how kids our age don’t have clean water,” student Dustin Gates said.
Aft er dividing into groups and researching these issues, the students had to determine which country suff ered most from the inability to access clean water. Kenya continuous-ly appeared to be the answer.
They became “the experts,” learning about the water cri-sis from the inside out, and its eff ects on the world. They learned that dirty water can
cause a child to carry up to 1,000 parasitic worms in his body, and that women and children will walk for hours in dangerous conditions to bring back dirty water.
“The statistics were too staggering to ignore,” Rah-many said.
The students created a project called “One Drop at a Time” to raise money to build a well in Kenya through The Water Project, a non-profi t or-ganization that provides access to clean water.
“That was the thing I think we were most struck by; that these women would spend the majority of their day walking for water,” Rahmany said. “We talked a lot about being that thirsty to literally risk your life to drink water. It was some-thing that resounded with all of us.”
The class hosted candy sales, penny wars, butt on sales and “The Water Challenge” to raise money. These fundrais-ers and donations, have raised $1,705 as of Feb. 8.
“The Water Challenge” was used to raise funds and spread knowledge about the water crisis. The students encouraged the school and the community to drink only water for two weeks and keep track of the money they saved by drink-
ing from the water fountain or ordering water instead of other beverages at restaurants. The money saved was donated to “One Drop at a Time.” Teach-ers who donated money then received a bott le of water.
“Every time the kids deliv-ered a water bott le to a teacher during ‘The Water Challenge,’ they would tell them ‘here’s the gift of clean water.’ It was re-ally powerful to hear them say it,” Rahmany said.
Aft er a well has been dug, The Water Project will provide a tracking link so the students will be able to see the impact of their donations from thou-sands of miles away.
“Kids aren’t going to school because they’re sick from dirty water,” student Juan Lopez said. “Children will be able to go to school and stop worrying about dirty water.”
The students have cre-ated a blog, a Facebook page and a donation page, and they presented their project to the school board in January. The class was also featured on WTHR’s ‘What’s Cool in School’ with Bruce Kopp.
“It’s changing us because we would just think about ourselves, but now that we’re doing the water project, we’re thinking about everyone,” stu-dent Cecelia Leon said.
PAGE 18 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER A+E
Top Central Sound opens their show with a combination of the songs “One Night Only” and “Last Dance,” which includes a solo from junior Elle Krauter. Left Sophomore Marrialle Sellars forms one-third of the trio that introduces the all-girls section of the show, “Dreamgirls.” Below The closer of the show involves a quick costume change into ‘70s-influenced outfits. Cub Photos/Lane Creech
Competition seasons begins with a Central SoundGrand Championship
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 19A+E
“I’ve never been this blown away by the talent we have.”
Whitney Shawjunior
Sound
It involves waking up at 4 a.m., hours of tiring practice and exhausting workouts, but it’s not Army boot camp. It’s show choir season.
Central Sound, LC’s coed show choir, returned from its season’s fi rst competition, at the Shelbyville Singsa-tional show choir invitational on Feb. 11, with a Grand Championship.
During the prelims, Central Sound captured honors for Outstanding Visual Caption, Outstanding Back-Up Band and Outstanding Female Soloist with senior Akiya Bryant.
Sweet Sensation, LC’s all-female choir, earned fi rst Runner-Up honors and Best Back-Up Band at the same
competition. Sweet Sensation has only 11 return-
ing members this year and is working on transitioning its 29 new girls. Junior Whitney Shaw, who has been in Sweet Sensation for three years, is excited about this year’s show.
“I’ve never been this blown away by the talent we have,” Shaw said. She said she believes the girls just need to work on being confi dent and maintaining energy.
Sophomore Alana Jones is new to Sweet Sensation. She is excited about the season and thinks they have a good chance at winning. “We just need to work and make things bett er,” she said.
Jones enjoys show choir and meet-ing new people, but the hardest part for her is having energy by the end of the show.
Central Sound members are also
excited about their prospects this year. Junior Mackenzie Spicer, who is in her second year of being in the choir, said the show is great, and she’s looking forward to daily growth as a choir. She said she believes the choir members still have a lot to work on, though.
“We really need to work on buck-ling down, focusing, and retaining the
features our director wants in order to reach our best. I believe we can get there,” Spicer said.
Junior Tyler Ruch is a third-year mem-ber of Central Sound. Ruch is also excited
about this season and can’t wait for people to see it. Although he says it’s diffi cult to get enough stamina to per-form a perfect 20-minute show, he still enjoys the competitions.
However, he believes there is still work to be done.
“We need to learn to work hard every day and leave our problems at the door,” Ruch said.
Both choirs will continue their competition season Saturday at Center Grove.
And on Feb. 25, LC will host its an-nual Show Choir Classic. The fi nals will begin at 7 p.m. and Central Sound will perform at 10:30 p.m. with the awards presentations at 10:55 p.m.
Forty choirs will be competing in the Classic, and both Central Sound and Sweet Sensation will perform.
The
ofMUSIC
(Central)Left: The guys of CS move to the beat for the all-male portion of the show, “Step Into The Bad Side.” Cub photo/Lane Creech Above: Sophomore Bailey Garey performs “Over the Rainbow” for Sweet Sensation. Courtesy photo/Dewey Swanson Above right: Junior Perri Smith sings her part of the girls trio, which is the opening part of the show’s second number, “Dream-girls.” Cub photo/Lane Creech
The
The Classic at Lawrence CentralPreliminaries and festival divisions will begin at 8 a.m. Feb. 25 at LC. Prelim awards will be presented at 5:30 p.m., awards at 10:55 p.m.
Daytime only: $10Evening fi nals only: $10All day: $15Children 12 and under: $5
The Rhythmic RevolutionArtist: Kellie Pickler Album: 100 Proof Genre: Country
Artist: The FrayAlbum: Scars & StoriesGenre: Pop-rock
Artist: Taio CruzAlbum: TY.OGenre: Electropop
Artist: Lana Del ReyAlbum: Born to DieGenre: Indie-pop
Similar Artists: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Faith Hill
Similar Artists: Flor-ence + the Machine, Adele, Ellie Goulding
Similar Artists: Cold-play, The Script, One Rebuplic
Similar Artists:Flo Rida, T-Pain, Jamie Foxx, Usher
Meredith NordmannSong Suggestion: ToughRating: 1-2-3- -5Rating: 1-2-3- -5
Jacob HelmusSong Suggestion: TroublemakerRating: 1-2-3- -5Rating: 1-2-3- -5
Carley LanichSong Suggestion: Run For Your LifeRating: 1-2-3-4-
Molly LissSong Suggestion: Born to DieRating: 1-2- -4-5Rating: 1-2- -4-5
Kellie Pickler’s third album puts aside the Nashville pop like her earlier albums and she goes looking for her country soul. 100 Proof is pure, honest and powerful. Not unlike her previous albums, it was in the top 10 Billboard already within the fi rst week of its release. With a voice that reminds you of Miranda Lambert, she has the use of tough, country girl lyrics. It is evident that the previous American Idol fi nalist has moved away from mainstream into the realm where she truly belongs.
Even though the album is almost strictly country, it can also be relatable to other pop genres. Many of her lyrics
are co-writt en with Grammy nominated singer-songwriter James T. Slater and Leslie Satcher. The light and heartfelt lyrics about misinterpreted love and relationships are relatable to all ages, especially those in their teen years.
This album has a wide variety of range starting with her lead single “Tough.” The song portrays just that. The upbeat song contrasts immensely from the balladlike song from the
end of the album, “The Lett er (To Daddy).” It is a perfect and pure way to end the album.
I recommend “Run for Your Life,” an honest, heartfelt song with
meaningful lyrics. Overall, Scars
& Stories is an excellent album that combines elements of The Fray’s previous albums
with a new, upbeat sound. The album features lead vocalist Isaac Slade’s unique voice and incredibly catchy tunes that will undeniably be stuck in your head, in a good way. This album is a must.
of release. However, Del Rey is still trying to establish herself in America.
Originally named Lizzy Grant, Del Ray’s music has an indie-pop feel to it. “Video Games” has a lot of harp in the background and not much else, so her voice comes through very clearly.
“Born to Die” has a relaxed feel. Del Rey’s unique style of singing is not upbeat or too repetitive, unlike that of
many other singers in the industry.
Some of her songs come across as a litt le rough, but with more experience she has the potential to
become a respected singer.
PAGE 20 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER A+E
With two solid and successful albums under their belt, The Fray released their third album, Scars & Stories, on Feb 7. The band best known for hits like “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me” found inspiration from their travels abroad and personal experiences.
Many tracks of this album are inspired by historical events such as the lead single, “Heartbeat,” a song about the genocide in Rwanda. Similarly, “1961” is a powerful song inspired by the lasting eff ects of the Berlin Wall.
In contrast to her fl op performance on Saturday Night Live recently, Lana Del Rey’s album is surprisingly good. “Born to Die” is Del Rey’s second studio album and major label debut. The album was released Jan. 27 and features the track “Video Games.” This track supposedly propelled her to fame.
The album has become the fastest selling album in England, selling more than 100,000 copies within its fi rst week
British musician, rapper and producer Taio Cruz became even more popular with the release of his third album TY.O on Dec. 2, 2011. Cruz, who is known for his smash singles “Dynamite” and “Break Your Heart,” released this 11-track album that includes multiple genres of music including dubstep, rock anthems as well as Cruz’s bread and butt er, hip-hop. The reason for such a simple album name TY.O is to show people how to correctly pronounce his name.
The album also included some smash hits that featured big time artists such as the song “Hangover” that
featured Flo Rida. But Cruz didn’t need much help with the album and it was evident in his solo song “Troublemaker.” It
is a song that is good from beginning to end and a great party song to get up and dance to.
Overall TY.O is an outstanding album that includes a good mix of dubstep, rock and hip-hop along with a good clash of solo and duo songs. Be on the lookout for the dropping of Cruz’s third album single “There She Goes” during the second quarter of 2012.
Cub Grub
What’s H t in Indy
10570 E. 96th St.Fishers, IN 46038(317) 576-1070
www.crheroes.com
H t
C.R. Heroes is a family pub that serves up traditional American fare.
Upon entering C.R. Heroes, it’s hard not to miss the walls, covered with all types of hero memorabilia. There are posters of Superman, Batman and even Incredible Hulk hands coming out of the wall. In addition to the superhero collection, one entire wall is covered with photos and knickknacks from real life heroes like police offi cers and fi refi ghters.
C.R. Heroes also has an area with video games to entertain children while waiting for their meals. Overall, this restaurant creates a family friendly and inviting atmosphere.
Coincidentally, I was waited on by LC junior Ashton Meares. She was very pleasant and provided great service.
The most popular items on the menu at C.R. Heroes are the Hoosier Daddy sandwich and the soft pretzels appetizer. The Hoosier Daddy is a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich served with garlic mayo. The soft pretzels, a favorite of mine, are served with ranch dressing and cheese for dipping.
Aft er devouring the soft pretzels, it was time for the meal. I enjoy comfort food so I went with the chicken and noodles. This entrée is served on top of a heap of mashed potatoes. This meal was very tasty and fi lling, and I would certainly order it again.
C.R. Heroes is a great restaurant to go to with the family if you’re looking for a casual, enjoyable dining experience. Everything is moderately priced, around $10 a meal.
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 21A+E
C.R. Heroes serves up some super sandwiches
The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tour-nament 2012 will be held March 1-4 The women’s tournament takes to the hard court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for 11 games over four days. Celebrating the 17th season of Indianapolis being its host, it has 22 games and two titles up for grabs. The two weeks also include several fan events such as the Big Ten Hoops Day 5K, Big Ten Conference Career Expo, pep rallies and more.
Big Ten women take the court
“This Means War” was released on Valentine’s Day. Starring Reese With-erspoon, Tom Hardy and Chris Pine, the fi lm follows two male CIA opera-tives who are inseparable best friends. However, when they meet Lauren (Witherspoon), their friendship is put to the test. They use their deadly skills and their high-tech knowledge against each other to try and capture the heart of the beautiful blonde in this romantic comedy.
‘This Means War’ now in theaters
Michael Jackson: THE IMMORTAL World Tour will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 24- Feb. 25 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Performed by the Canadian enter-tainment company Cirque De Soleil, this experience celebrates the life and artistry of the late King of Pop. A team of 10 choreographers worked to bring to life Michael Jackson’s most well-known lyrics and dance moves. Tickets vary from $50 to $250.
King of Popreigns at Bankers Life
Australian native and up-and-coming pop sensation Cody Simpson will perform 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Murat Theater at Old National Centre as part of his “Welcome to Paradise Tour” across the United States and Canada. Well-known for his catchy hit “On My Mind” that broke the top 40 in 2011, Simpson will perform songs from his most recent album released last Sep-tember, “Coast to Coast.”
Cody Simpson at MuratSaturday
www.codysimpson.com
www.idmb.com www.cirquedusoleil.com
Legendary rock band Van Halen will be in Indianapolis for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 downtown at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The famous ‘70s and ‘80s rock band returns with David Lee Roth, who parted from the group in 1985. The concert is part of Van Halen’s tour celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band. Van Halen will perform older songs from all of their albums as well as tracks from their new album, A Diff erent Kind of Truth.
Rock Band Van Halen returns to Indy
www.vanhalen.com
Compiled by Meredith Nordmann and Jacob Helmus
‘The Test’ now at IWM“The Test,” an exhibit of facts and sto-ries about the Tuskegee Airmen (fea-tured in the recent fi lm Red Tails), is on exhibit through March 4 at the Indiana War Memorial, 431 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis. Free.
Cub photo/E. Granger
Just another brick in the wall
CINEMANIACOscars are on the approach
Genre: Sci-Fi Director: Josh TrankRating: PG-13 Length: 84 minutes
Chronicle shakes it up
“I predict that “The Artist” will come out ahead.”
Everyone’sa
Critic
Musing
Musicon the
source/fandango.comIt’s almost here. On Feb.
26, the 84th Annual Acad-emy Awards will air from the Kodak Theater on ABC. For most fi lm fans, this is a huge night; whether or not you believe in the value of awards in and of them-selves, Oscars can change the trends of studio-funded movie trends and can completely change the course of actors’ careers. Within the Hol-lywood system, Oscar’s dominance is tied only with box-offi ce returns.
Given that the Oscars come aft er legions of other awards shows, some predictions of who will win may seem like obvious choices based on previous results. This, however, is not always the
case. There have been shockers throughout Oscar history, and
there is generally one sur-prise or upset each year. Last year’s, for me at least, was “The King’s Speech” victory in both Picture and Director; I had a lot
riding on David Fincher and “The Social Network,”
but I digress.This year’s surprise, I
believe, will be in the Best Actress category; Meryl Streep is the favorite to win, but Viola Davis walked
away with the SAG award
for best actress, so it’s a toss-up. Best Actor is also a bit of a close race, but I think George Clooney will prevail over Jean Dujardin. Supporting actor catego-ries are prett y much locked up for Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer, so it’ll take a miracle to knock those two out.
As for the coveted Best Picture, I predict “The Artist” will come out
ahead; it’s artsy, well-acted and engaging, but it has none of the self-consciously indie sensibili-ties of its near-est rival, “The Descendants.”
While “The Descendants” was still excellent, “The Artist” will likely appeal to the Academy more.
Then again, I could be com-pletely wrong, as I was last year. I hate you, Colin Firth…
“The Artist” has ten nominations and is a strong contender in the Best Picture race.
Ever since “The Blair Witch Project” hit it big back in ’99, “found footage” style movies have become more and more prevalent in mainstream cin-ema, and it isn’t hard to see why; “Blair Witch” was made with an extremely low budget and ended up becoming a box-offi ce phenomenon. From a studio standpoint, throwing a few million away on a movie that’s supposed to look cheap and having it soar into the black seems like a genius undertaking. What sold those previously mentioned examples, though, was realism; some people (for a short time, at least) thought they were real, which greatly increased the fear factor. More recent found-footage movies (like “Cloverfi eld”), though, have tried to cheat by adding special eff ects and Hollywood style.
“Chronicle” is one of those cheaters, and an egregious one at that. Camera angles switch from protagonist Andrew’s camera to the smartphones of bystanders to security cameras on a whim. The found-footage angle is a weak gimmick and “Chron-icle’s” biggest failure is adhering to the dramatic limitations of the genre.
That being said, there are moments of “Chron-icle” that are actually quite good. The three main characters playing around with their newfound telekinetic powers provide genuine laughs, while the sensitive, anti-social Andrew (Dane DeHaan) has a few moments of naturalistic angst that provide the fi lm’s strongest scenes. We empathize with Andrew, though, and there is real satisfaction in seeing him use his powers to come out of his shell before he becomes mad with power.
It is at that point, though, when the fi lm really loses steam; Andrew goes from shy teen to Nietzche-paraphrasing psychopath quicker than suspension of disbelief will allow. To that end, the fi nal batt le with Andrew’s moralistic (but bland) cousin Matt is a CG-fi lled disappointment. Also, throughout the movie, explanations are scant, motivations are murky and certain characters are too thinly drawn.
Still, the direction is slick and the acting from DeHaan and fellow lead Michael B. Jordan are superb. Most importantly, though, “Chronicle” breathes fresh air into the superhero genre, which it sorely needs. Now if only it could’ve freshened up the found-footage genre…
When rock and roll fi rst emerged, no one knew what types of genres would sprout from this masterful creation. Roger Waters, Syd Barrett , Nick Mason and Rick Wright, however, knew exactly what to make out of it.
In 1965, aft er many name changes and line-up remov-als, the psychedelic space rock band, Pink Floyd, emerged. Barrett named the band aft er blues artists Pinkney ‘Pink’ Ander-son, and Floyd Council. In 1967, their fi rst album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” was released, which contained Barrett ’s lengthy riff -laden passages. The album became one of the most psychedelic British albums ever made, behind the Beatles “Sgt.
Pepper’s,” of course. Barrett was gett ing notoriety
all over the world, but he was now a heavy LSD user and
was on the border of insan-ity. He would go on stage and would sporadically play notes, or not even play at all.
The band was in dire need of a change or they would be over. They de-cided to bring in their old friend, David Gilmour. They planned to keep Syd,
just not have him do the live shows. How-ever,
Barrett didn’t
take it well, and left the band. Not much is known if he was even aware that he left the band. With Barrett gone, they could get to work. They produced a couple mildly successful albums but 1973s “Dark Side of the Moon” was an instant masterpiece and would go down as one of the
best albums of all time. In 1979, “The Wall” was released
and it left jaws wide open. For Waters, the story that was told in the album wasn’t enough. He created a movie to go hand in hand with the
album. Wright was fi red in 1980 because he and Waters couldn’t get along.
In 2005, the band
joined together for a fi nal concert and the fi rst one in 24 years. In 2006, Barrett passed away, along with Wright in 2008.
The soul of Pink Floyd may have died, but their music will live on forever.
source/fandango.com
PAGE 22 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER A+E
“The album became one of the most psyche-delic British albums ever made...”
Pink Floyd set the bar for the rest of the rock bands for the future
source/fandango.com
What’s LC’s...
By the Numbers CUB COMIC
TV SHOW: SONG/RINGTONE:
This Yearby: The Mountain Goats
International Harvesterby: Craig Morgan
Miami InkLong Hot Summerby: Keith Urban
Matt Pickle, 10
Emily Mott , 9
Kaitlin Cherba, 10
Allison Specker, 10
source/snapple.com/retiredfacts
445
623
1061
20
Number of noses a slug has
Minutes a beaver can hold its breath underwater
Weight in pounds of the largest pumpkin ever grown
Number of eyelids a camel has
Lighthouses in Maine
Calories burned per hour of chewing gum
@CubOnline: What are some distracting driving habits you see?
@m_higgy13 Mary Higgins, 12People putting their make-up on
@npetr12 Nick Petr, 12
@brandonfeld Brandon Feldemeirer 12
@saviorxavior Xavier Somerville, 12
@karlatino Karleigh Latinovich, 12@melismaac Melissa Macneur, 12
@d_christen12 Drake Christen, 11 @danieldnelson Daniel Nelson, 11Ipods and people changing their music
Music is de� nitely a distraction. People tapping their � ngers/ nails on anything. DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!!!!
texting, talking on the phone, eating I sneeze often while driving. People bite and pick at their nails.
I see a lot of people texting and driv-ing.
TOP 10 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS1. Olive Garden
2. P.F. Chang’s
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. Noodles & Co.
5. St. Elmo Steakhouse
6. The Melting Pot
7. Spaghetti Factory 8. Carrabba’s Italian Grill
9. El Rodeo
10. Le Peep
Top 10 list researched and compiled by Avarie Bowman
Cub comic/Audrey Meyer
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 23A+E
Tosh.0Jacob Lane, 11
SpartacusAlexandru Gavrila, 10
Number ofmuscles
a caterpillar has2000
Doctor WhoAnna Hooker, 12
PAGE 24 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER SPORTS
Only one advances to [email protected]
After finishing the season with a 16-8 record, the Bears wrestling team had high hopes for the Sectional tour-nament, and the tournaments to come after.
LC had two first-place finish-ers at Sectionals — junior Riley Newkirk and se-nior Dominique Robinson.
But a dozen Bears went on to Regionals. The way the tourna-ment works is that the top four placers in each weight class move on, so 12 of LC’s 14 wrestlers made it to Regionals.
The team took second place.With 12 at Regionals, expectations
for going on to semi-state were much higher than in previous years. Three wrestlers took first place at Regionals: Newkirk, Robinson and junior Myron
Hamilton. Seniors Clay LaBarr and De-metrius Jackson, and junior Scott Swing-le, also made it to semi-state.
With a chance to make it to the state tournament on the line, the Bears had a tough week of practice to get prepared.
But things didn’t go quite as ex-pected last weekend. The only wrestler
to make it through to the state tourna-ment was Robinson.
“This is my fi-nal year at LC, and I wanted to leave my mark and get some-thing for all of the hard work I’ve put in over the years,” Robinson said.
The state tournament will be at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The Bears have only four seniors leaving the team after this year, so keep-ing a well-built team together shouldn’t be tough.
Freestyle club wrestling will be-gin Tuesday for wrestlers interested in learning a different type of wrestling.
Senior Dominique Robinson rides out his oppenent in Sectionals (top).Senior Clay La-Barr hits a hard cross face against his opponent. Cub photos/Colman LaBarr
“This is my final year at LC, and I wanted to leave my mark...”
Dominique Robinsonsenior
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 25SPORTS
“Those guys need to get it in their heads that they need to step it up...” J.R. shelt
head coach
With Sectionals coming up, the Bears are looking for a spark to get them back on track. The team is now 11-5 and has two more regular season games. The boys have been working on their defense, but they aren’t playing it with the consistency they were earlier in the year. In the last five games, the boys have either held their oppo-nents to fewer than 40 points or have given up more than 68 points. “Some teams want to play up and down, so we’ll have more or less possessions,” head coach J.R. Shelt said. “But we’re not executing down the stretch right now, offensively or de-fensively. When you play good teams, that’s going to kill you.” The boys have been play-
ing solidly offensively, just not in the last two minutes of the game. In the last seven games, they have been averaging 70.4 points per game. For most of the season, it has been senior Jeremy Hollowell carrying the offensive load, a v e r a g i n g more than 24 points per game this season. He has also had four straight 25-plus-point games. But now, seniors Tyler Fischl and Tyler Corley have been getting in on the ac-tion, filling their roles and then some. Corley is averaging 17 points per game in the team’s last six games, while Fischl is averaging 10.3 points per game. Fischl has also been an offensive catalyst by grabbing offensive
boards as well as creating op-portunities for other players. The Bears still have some loose ends they need to tie be-fore Sectionals, though. But they’re also looking for a spark of momentum, which is one
of the biggest keys to post-season success. “ W e need to start executing in the last two minutes of the game,” Shelt said. “We also need to get
teams playing to our tempo, which is something we’re start-ing to do now.” But for the first three quar-ters against Warren Central last Thursday, the Bears couldn’t control the tempo. The War-riors 2-3 zone stalled the Bears’ offense in the first half, limit-
ing them to only 20 points. The Bears were down by 13 at the half, but down by only 7 at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a dif-ferent story, however. It seemed as though a switch turned on for the Bears, as they started dictating the tempo and speed-ing up the game. Hollowell was heating up down the stretch as well, giving the boys a 6-point lead with three minutes remain-ing. The Warriors weren’t done, though. Warren Central slowly cut the lead down until they tied it on a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left. The Bears had the final possession. Corley attempted to drive through the Warriors’ zone and dish it to a player, but the pass was deflected to senior Steven McCann. McCann passed the ball to Hollowell, who put up a 27-foot jumper with less than a
second remaining. Nothing but net. The win over the Warriors is a confidence booster on the defensive end as well as in the clutch. That could spark mo-mentum for the boys into the post-season. “I’m also on the guys about showing some leadership,” Shelt added. “We’re not get-ting leadership from the guys that we should. There are some silly things happening right now that shouldn’t be happen-ing with the amount of experi-ence that’s on the court. Those guys are going to have to get it in their heads that they need to step up to keep themselves in line as well as their teammates.” The boys will look to step up their game tonight at South-port. LC’s final regular season game will be at home, where the Bears will take on Ran Pat-terson and Broad Ripple.
Stepping it up for SectionalsPutting on the full court press, senior Steven McCann defends a Warren Central Warrior from getting down the court (above). Fading away in the first quarter, senior Jeremy Hollowell scores 2 of his 27 points on the night in a 59-56 win. Cub photos/Lane Creech
PAGE 26 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER SPORTS
Girls 4 x 200 swims in state
A day among the pro’s
Touch
All‘Em “...enamored at the fact
that he said my ques-tion was a good one.
In our society, we desire fame. We want to be that guy on ESPN who’s going crazy in front of the camera. We want to see famous people out in public. Talking to them would be a dream, an unreal experi-ence. Well, on Jan. 31, I got the opportunity to talk to not one, not two, but 11 different play-ers from the teams that played in Super Bowl XVLI. I was one of eight high school journalists to be part of Media Day. Both the Giants and the Patriots had one-hour sessions to talk to the media, which
I was officially part of. The Patriots were the first team to come out.
And, of course, 90 percent of the media surrounded Tom Brady’s booth 30 minutes beforehand to get a good spot. So that opened up space for me to talk to Patri-ots TE Rob Gronkowsi (better know as “Gronk”). Gronk has put up the best numbers for a TE ever in the NFL because of his combination of size and speed, which gives opposing defenses match-up nightmares.
I asked Gronk who on the Gi-ants defense could serve as a threat to slow down the Patriots high octane offense. He told me that the Giants defensive line was going to be an issue, with everyone on the line being able to wreak havoc in the back-field. Wide receiver Wes Welker said the same thing when I asked him that ques-tion. The highlight of my day came after I talked to DB Pat-rick Chung. Tom Brady’s booth was still packed, but I saw an opening to get to the front of the pack. I squeezed in and right then and there, I was 5 feet away from Tom Brady. For two minutes I yelled to get his atten-tion, like everyone else, when, finally, he looked me dead in the eyes. Despite having the tempta-tion to ask him if Giselle was there, I asked him my legiti-mate question: “How do you plan on ne-gating the strength and quick-ness of the Giants D-line?” And the next words that
came out of Tom Brady’s mouth were the best words a high school journalist could hear. “Well, that’s a good ques-tion,” he said. Of course he went on to answer the ques-tion, saying they would need
to change up looks and use screens, but I was sitting there, enam-ored at the fact that he said my question
was a good one. The Giants interviews opened my eyes to how con-fident they were. This was Eli Manning’s second Super Bowl against the same team. Man-ning sounded confident in his preparation and his team’s abil-ity to win. It also helped that he had consulted his older brother, Peyton, about the Patriots de-fense. Two Giants defensive backs, Corey Webster and An-trel Rolle, both said they were “never scared of anything” on defense. I also was able to speak to the Giants’ Mathias Ki-wanuka, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. As Barney Stinson would say, my day was “legendary.”
Cundiff moves on to State
The Lady Bears swim team season came to an end on Feb. 4 as they did not make it out of their Sectional. The ladies fin-ished third out of 13 teams and scored a total of 267 points. However, the Lady Bears did send the 200-yard relay team consisting of sophomore April Eales, junior Victoria Col-vin, sophomore Bailey Garey and senior Maggie Shanahan to the state meet by winning their race easily be two seconds. This is the first time LC has sent a re-
lay team to state since 1994. The girls did not swim as well as they hoped they would at state, though, finishing 28 in the state meet. At Sec-tionals, Law-rence North dominated the meet, winning 11 of the 13 events and fin-ished with 523 points. This was the fifth year in a row that Lawrence North has taken home first place at Sectionals.
The Lady Bears had many standouts throughout the meet, including Eales who placed fourth out of 26 in the 200-yard
freestyle. The girls finished with a record of 10-3 and also were able to claim the title of the third best team in Marion Coun-ty.
“The best part of the season for the coaches was watching how hard the girls worked. At
the sectional meet, we had 90 percent best times. This is di-rectly related to the work they put in this year,” head coach Andrew Renie said. It is now the boys’ turn to see if they have what it takes to make it to state. “The most important thing is that we swim our best at Sec-tionals,” Renie said. “The boys worked hard this season as well. I am anticipating similar results. We should have about 90 percent best times.” Sectionals began Thursday at Lawrence North and will continue Saturday.
“ Andrew Reniehead coach
This is directly related to the work they put in...”
Junior Martin Cundiff is continuing on to State Satur-day at Arrowhead Bowl in La-fayette.
LC’s boys and girls bowling teams had a successful Region-al tournament. Junior Ashley Mooney placed second for the girls while Cundiff placed sixth for the boys and freshman An-drew Benslay placed 13th.
All three bowlers went to Semi-State, but Cundiff is the only one to move forward to state by placing eighth.
The boys’ team expected the success this season as they returned many of their bowl-ers from last year; their expec-tations have proven to be true as they won eight out of 10 matches throughout the sea-son.
However, the girls had to start from scratch as two of their five bowlers had never picked up a bowling ball before.
Despite the lack of experi-ence on the girls’ team, they were able to come together and also win eight out of their 10 matches, the same record as the more experienced guys.
“I’m proud of my girls for coming together as a team and pushing each other to do bet-ter,” Mooney said.
The captains (Cundiff for boys, Mooney for girls) also played a pivotal role in the teams successes this season. Mooney was able to carry the Lady Bears a long way in the post-season with great ac-complishments, while Cun-diff took a big leadership role and really glued the team to-gether with his positive spirit. “The best part of being on the team is seeing how much talent there is and being able to be involved at school,” Cundiff said.
CUB REPORTER • FEBRUARY 17, 2012 PAGE 27SPORTS
Girls’ season ends in Sectionals
Swimmers ‘Freezin’ for a Reason’
11-5
13-7
16-8
3rd at Sectionals
Sectionals, Feb. 18
“This is the best re-cord since 1987...”
John Albershead coach
“I couldn’t ask for much better.”
Kollette Koehler junior
“Freezin’ for A Reason.” This quote prett y much sums up the LC swimmers’ experi-ence when they participate in the Polar Plunge on Feb. 25. It has become a tradition for all the swim-mers who want to take a quick artifi cial ‘ice bath’ in Ea-gle Creek ev-ery year aft er the swimming season is over. Who in their right mind would want to do this? Anyone who wants to help an extremely good cause would. Each swim-mer who participates must raise $75 in pledges before they can run into the freezing cold water, and all the money they generate goes toward benefi t-ing the Special Olympics in In-diana. Even though donating to a charity is the biggest reward of all, the people who raise more than $75 get other incentives as well, such as a beach towel, hooded sweatshirts or a back-
pack. Many of the participants are looking forward to both re-wards. “Yeah I’m looking forward to it — hanging out with my friends and helping the Spe-cial Olympics. I’ll fi nally get to check it off my bucket list,”
freshman Bro-dy Petrucciani said. But if the plunges in the cold creek and the i n c e n t i v e s aren’t exciting enough, the “aft er splash
bash” does get the participants excited. It is completely free to anyone who participated in the plunge and will be held at the Pike Freshman Center. The party will include awards to the winners of best costume, larg-est campus team, most money raised by an individual and most money raised by a team. The event also creates bett er chemistry for the Bears swim team in 2012-2013. “The event is awesome and I get to spend it with my team. I couldn’t ask for much bett er,” junior Kollett e Koehler said.
These four swimmers from last year take their plunge into the freezing Eagle Creek Reservoir, as the fi re-fi ghters that they have to touch before they can head back to shore await them. Courtesy photo/Kollete Koehler
Coach John Albers had brought the basketball team from a record of 14-128 in a span of fi ve years to a 2011-2012 season record of 13-7. In Albers’ fourth year at LC, he has turned the girls’ basketball program around, bringing a winning season. Their last two regular sea-son games were victorious for the Lady Bears. The team won 67-57 in a Conference Indiana
game against Southport. They also narrowly defeated Fishers 74-72. In the sec-ond round of Sectionals, the Bears faced off against Warren Central, whom they lost to in the regular season 51-46. The Lady Bears would come up unsuccessful once again in Sectionals against the Warriors. Although within 3 points in the
third quarter, the Lady Bears couldn’t pull out a win. Aft er Warren Central started press-
ing, the girls couldn’t make a comeback and lost 59-41. Sopho-more Kyra Tucker led the team with 16 points, while
junior Breanna Jones had 10. The Lady Bears ended their sea-son with a record of 13-7. This has been one of the best
seasons in years for the girls. “I feel like we fi nally reached a level of competitive-ness that we have been striving for the last four years,” Albers said. “This is the best record since 1987, and we won the Shelbyville Holiday Shootout this year. So, all in all, a break-out season for the Lady Bears and now we have to carry it over into next year.” Albers said he hopes his players are proud of what they have done this season and their impact on the program.
INTHE Spotlight
“I’d really like to be able to say, ‘I built this.’ I want to feel this accomplishment.”
Cub Reporter (CR): What is the name of the class completing this project? Nathan Hinkle (NH): “It’s an aft er-school class… we have to pay for kits that we bought, about $175, that’s for the neck, the head and the body. We have to sand it all down ourselves and build it from scratch. The class is at MCC.”
CR: Why did you decide to take this class? NH: I like working with my hands, and I have three guitars and I always thought, “I’d really like to build one to my specifi cations or what I like.” So, I got a whisper of the opportunity, and I found out the man leading the class was my physics teacher, so I talked to him about it.
CR: Does everyone build a guitar or do they get to choose what they build? NH: Everyone builds a guitar; however, there are diff erent body styles they have and the one I got is a V-Shape and there’s other ones that look similar to the Gibson guitars.
CR: How long have you been playing the guitar? NH: I’ve been playing for about fi ve to six years now. I did take lessons for about the fi rst two years.
CR: Where did this interest in the guitar come from; did you pursue it for fun?NH: Well, Guitar Hero played one part and the other part was mainly that I just wanted to learn.
CR: Are you in a band? NH: Still looking for a band. I have a drummer, which is one of my best friends, but other than that, we’re still looking for a singer and a bass player.
CR: What’s the goal of this project? NH: The goal is to get done. We don’t have really a set time per say, everybody has to be fi nished. Everyone in the class is doing prett y well.
CR: You mentioned you’ve been playing the guitar for fi ve or six years. Is music really important to you? Is it a big part of your life? NH: Yeah, it helps me when I’m feeling down; it helps me express myself.
CR: What do you personally hope to accomplish? NH: I’d really like to be able to say, “I built this.” I want to feel this accomplishment.
CR: Do you look forward to this class; is it one of your favorite parts of the week? NH: Yeah, I look forward to it. It’s somewhat an escape, but it’s really just something I enjoy doing.
CR: Would you participate in this class again if you had the opportunity? NH: The teacher, Mr. Smith, said it takes about 40 hours of work to build a guitar. He said aft er you build your fi rst, when you move on to your second one, you start gett ing bett er at it.
Nathan HinkleJunior Nathan Hinkle is one of rougly 12 Lawrence Township students participat-ing in an after-school class at MaKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology. In this class, students design and construct their own guitars, from start to fi nish. Hinkle, an avid guitar player, shared his experience with us:Cub photo/Coleman LaBarr
STUDENT INTERESTPAGE 28 FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • CUB REPORTER