Issue 6 (Feb. 2016)

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Caminos partnership pg. 5 Leap pgs. 10-14 Rugby season pg. 15

The FCHS Student Newspaper

Feb. 25, 2016

Profile on Art Student Armond Dai pg. 9

Why teens need more sleep pg. 21

Volume 97 Issue 6 3400 Lambkin Way

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Phone: (970) 488-8199

Fax: (970) 488-8008

2 Feb. 25, 2016 Man missing for 30 years reunites with family after remembering identity

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EXPANDING VIEW

Talk show suspended after guest makes offensive comment

New guidelines created to protect rural children with working parents

British Airways plane turns around due to lack of visibility caused by laser pointer

Rolling Stones meet Argentine president during South American tour

Evidence shows extinct marsupial lion was able to climb rocks and trees Information gathered by Maya Bode Source: BBC

Inside the Ink Caminos Partnership pg. 7

Oscars Preview pg. 7

Leap of Faith pg. 11

Profile on Jason Tarver pg.17

Uniformity Among Classes pg. 19

News pg. 2-5

A&E pg. 6-9

In-Depth pg. 10-14

Sports pg. 15-18

Perspectives pg. 19-23

Corrections Spilled Ink does not have any errors to report.

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Feb. 25, 2016

How it works:

3

3-D Glasses Since our eyes are placed approximately 3 inches apart, each eye sees the world from a slightly different perspective. 3-D glasses take advantage of this binocular disparity to produce an optical illusion.

KEY Club, Bike Club to host March blood drive

At a 3-D movie, the screen displays two separate images. 3-D glasses filter the two projections, so that only one image enters each eye.

Andrew Jessen-Tyler Columnist The FCHS Blood Drive hosted by KEY Club and Bike Club will take place March 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m in a UCHealth bus in front of the school.

Students, staff, family, and friends are all welcome to donate.

“If you give a pint, you could save a life,” ACE Coordinator Cathy Hettleman said. “You don’t have to go out of your way to save someone’s life.”

Donors must be at least 18 years old. 17-year-olds may participate if a legal guardian signs a permission slip. Reservations for time slots may be made in the front office, but blood donors may drop in as well.

Today’s 3-D glasses accomplish this with polarizing lenses, which have their polarization directions adjusted to be different by 90 degrees.

This separates the projections so that each eye sees only its corresponding image.

This information reaches the visual cortex of the brain, which merges the two incoming pictures, creating a sense of depth and allowing images to leap off the screen.

Ocean Bowl team to compete on Saturday Adelaide Tomsic

GRAPHIC BY PARKER ANDRIST

Staff Writer The National Ocean Sciences Bowl, a national academic competition much like Jeopardy, will be taking place this Saturday at the University of Colorado in Boulder, as one of 25 regional Ocean Bowl competitions occurring throughout the U.S. “You play as a team,” science teacher Angela Morris said. “You buzz in for toss up questions like jeopardy and then when somebody on your team gets that question then you have a bonus question that the whole team can work on for fifteen seconds.”

To get ready for Ocean Bowl FCHS competitors have been practicing after school every Tuesday and Thursday in room L207 since October.

Teams play by answering questions about the geology, biology and chemistry of the ocean in a multiple choice or short-answer format. The winners of the Boulder regional competition will move to the national finals at the University of North Carolina in April.

Pi Day events to be held early this year Eleanor Glenn

Staff Writer

Pi Day festivities, hosted by Math Honor Society (MHS), will take place on March 11, during fourth and fifth periods in the P-hall corridor.

“Since Pi Day is over spring break, it’ll be the Friday before spring break,” Sara Slagle, MHS coordinator, said. “There will be all sorts of activities. There’s a game where you’re approximating pi, there’s a pie walk, like a cake walk, where you’ll be walking around musical chairs for pie, there’s a perfect circle drawing contest, and there’s a ‘How many digits of pi can you memorize?’ contest, and of course, lots of piezes – ,” Slagle said. “There will be real pie prizes.”

Setting up Outlook for desktop allows easy access to student email account

Andrew Jessen-Tyler Columnist

Many students will come across at least one teacher who emails something to the class every day. But since it’s the school email and not a personal one, students may not always check it.

An easy way to keep up to date on the school email is to use Microsoft Outlook.

Outlook, a program included in Microsoft Office, is an email client for your desktop. It can be connected to most accounts, including the district-issued email.

To set up Outlook for your school email, start by logging on to your laptop while at school.

Make sure it is connected to the “PSD-Secure” Wi-Fi. Next, press the Windows Key or left click on the Windows Logo in the lower

left corner of the screen web browser. Make sure the (Figure 1). Then, search “Remember My Credentials” for “Outlook” and open checkbox is marked if you “Outlook 2013” (Figure 2). don’t want to sign in every The program will ask if time Outlook opens (Figure you would like to set up an 6). Keep in mind that if email account when you first you select this, anyone will open it. Make have access sure “Yes” is to your email selected, and while you are click “Next” logged on to (Figures 3 Windows. and 4). The After a p r o g r a m couple of should autofill m i n u t e s , the “Email O u t l o o k A c c o u n t ” should say Accompanying images s e c t i o n . it signed in can be found at: Double check successfully. http://tinyurl.com/ that your Click “Finish” SPINK-Email name is shown and it will start as “Last Name, downloading First Name e m a i l s – Student,” and that the (Figure 7). To easily open “E-mail Address” is filled Outlook in the future, with your school address. right-click the icon in the If everything looks correct, system tray and click “Pin click “Next” (Figure 5). this program to taskbar” The first time you log (Figure 8). Any time you in, or when your password log on to your laptop, just changes, a window will open outlook and it will pop up asking for your alert you of new emails. login information. Sign in If you have any issues as if you were logging in setting up Outlook, go to the to your school email on a LTC and ask for assistance.

4 Feb. 25, 2016

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Spilled Ink

UNCLE SAM WANTS YOUTH GRAPHICS BY ALEXIA CLARK

Local political parties welcome student volunteers Haley Ridgeway Guest Writer In today’s conflicted, argumentative world, politics are strewn with taboo topics and copious connotations. Republicans squabble with democrats; democrats bicker with republicans. Despite their differences and disagreements, both parties in this town agree on one thing.

Locally, both parties welcome student volunteers.

The Larimer County Democrats office is in a small office building located at 606 S. Mason St. On a Thursday afternoon, two younger women were working on personal laptops at white plastic tables.

The room was cold and cluttered with spilling boxes and bookshelves barely holding onto campaign swag for each of the Democratic Presidential candidates.

Pictures of John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and the other Democratic Presidents adorned the last bit of free space in the room like wallpaper.

The part of the building not used for communal visiting areas was broken up into uninhabited offices with a row of computers against one wall. A volunteer was making phone calls for half an hour to make sure people planned to attend the caucus on March 1 and vote in November.

Executive Board vice Chair Jennifer Williams suggested that everyone should become involved with the government.

“Since we [younger voters] are the largest voting bloc, we could have the potential to have a lot of say in who our elected officials that are representing us are,” she said.

High schoolers interested in getting involved with the Larimer County Democratic Party can contact the party or individual campaigns for information.

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton also have individual websites providing options to sign up. The Larimer County Democratic Office is available to answer all other questions via phone call or email.

The Larimer County Republicans office is at 4020 S. College Ave. They had desktop computers and a waiting area for visitors and employees or volunteers.

At 3 p.m. on a Monday, Secretary of Local Board Megan Fritts was greeting guests who came through the door while diligently putting together packets for the Republican caucus to go out the next day. Posters and signs for candidates were less visible, but still on display in the office and through the windows.

In the visitor section of the entryway, a stand offered free pocket Constitutions and information pamphlets on the Republican

Q&A with Teagan Sebba

Party, current events, and more. The office was filled with frequent rings of inquiring locals and the chime of the main door when visitors and volunteers entered.

Fritts encourages students to stay informed, volunteer, understand their Constitution, and know their freedoms and rights.

“As far as young people are involved, it’s critical,” she said. “Everyone will have an opportunity if we let them.”

A way to stay informed is to keep up with current events and know what local representatives are voting for.

Students are also able to volunteer for Republican Campaigns by contacting individual groups or creating an account on their website. Fritts invites registered republicans who are 18 to join the local Republican board if interested, or those under 18 can bring their ideas to a board member to be discussed. Members of the Larimer County Republicans office are able to answer all further questions their website doesn’t address.

Regardless of the side of the aisle, both parties agree young people should get involved this election season.

“I am a millennial myself,” Williams said, “and I think it’s really exciting that we are currently the biggest generation if we all were to show up to the polls.”

Visit

fchsspilled.weebly.com/ issue-6-feb-2016.html

After graduating in May 2013, FCHS alumna Teagan Sebba went on to major in Political Science and is now the Student Body President at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ.

to read Sebba’s

full Q&A

What is your advice to high school students who are interested in politics?

High School students interested in politics have to get involved.

(Talk to my little sister Taryn if you need Fort Collins political gigs.

She’s amazing.) Find what you’re passionate about and then dedicate yourself. At FCHS I was involved in National Honor Society, Boosters Club, Step Team and the Tennis team, so I’m sure that that involvement helped me get positions later on.

What attracts you to politics?

I’m attracted to the idea of giving back to my country that has given me so much and working to help people who haven’t been as lucky as I have been. I feel like I have been given the best life and great circumstances, but I can’t just live this life and not use it to give back.

Larimer County Republican Party http://www.larimergop.org/ Phone: (970) 224-2577

While working as a scheduling intern at the Clinton Foundation’s Harlem office in July 2015, Sebba shakes hands with former President Bill Clinton. PHOTO COURTESY OF TEAGAN SEBBA

How to Contact Primary Parties

Larimer County Democratic Party http://www.larimerdems.org/ (970) 689-6391

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News

Feb. 25, 2016

5

As part of the Caminos Partnership between FCHS and CSU, Dr. Antonette Aragon visits with Spanish literacy students. PHOTO BY DALENA GROEN

Caminos grupos inspiran Español lectura estudiantes Translated by Spanish Students in Jim Ogan’s Classes

Caminos partnership inspires Spanish literacy students Maya Bode Managing Editor When reaching milestones such as graduation, it is ultimately one’s own choice which path to take, but outside influences can impact these potentially life-changing decisions.

Caminos, the Spanish word for pathways, is a partnership between CSU and FCHS allowing Spanish literacy students and Latino college students to share stories and learn from one another twice a month on block days. The program started last spring, and was expanded this year after receiving a school innovation grant, with the intention of enhancing educational opportunities, validating diverse circumstances, and addressing common problems facing Latino students.

“I’ve been in their shoes and I think I come from the same background, so being able to say ‘Hey, I made it to college and here’s what I have to show for it’ would really be a good example,” said CSU sophomore Daniel Medrano, who is double-majoring in political science and Spanish and plans to go to law school with a focus in immigration.

“Maybe some of the mistakes I made, too, as what you shouldn’t do.”

In addition to sharing experiences, the CSU visitors help to create a bond between these students and encourage self-esteem and positivity.

“Honestly I’m a lot more confident about myself,” freshman Joanna Foster-Wood said. “I know that’s kind of weird – just some students came – but they taught

Al llegar a los parteaguas, momentos importantes el la vida, tal como la graduación de la prepa, cada persona tiene que elegir su me how even though people might propio camino. Pero, las influencias tell me I’m not good enough, I externas pueden tener un impacto en know my worth and I’m worth it.” estas decisiones que potencialmente Because of this newfound pueden cambiar la dirección de la vida. inspiration, many of these students Caminos, la palabra española que have made changes in the way en inglés significa “pathways”, es they approach their education. una programa de colaboración entre “The students are just more CSU y FCHS. Este programa les engaged in their learning, more da a los estudiantes en las clases de motivated to do well at school,” lectoescritura española y a los estudiantes Family Liaison and Enlace Familiar universitarios latinos la oportunidad de Jody Snow said. “I think they see compartir historias y aprender el uno themselves as a valuable part of the del otro. Esta colaboración ocurre dos Fort Collins high school community veces al mes durante los días de bloque. and the community at large as well.”

El programa se inició la primavera Caminos is an asset-based program pasada, y se aumentó este año después that not only teaches students de recibir una subvención para about the college las innovaciones admissions escolares. process, ICAP “Caminos” tiene el strategies, and propósito de mejorar las university expectations, but oportunidades de educación, motivates students to become reconocer las circunstancias more open-minded about their futures. diversas, y abordar los problemas “It’s made me look comunes que enfrentan at life differently,” GRAPHIC BY PARKER ANDRIST los estudiantes latinos. freshman Lytzy Calva “He estado en said. “When I realized the type of sus zapatos y creo que compartiendo people they were, I could see myself la misma herencia, entonces cuando being that type of person one day.” yo digo ‘Oye, entré a la universidad y After meeting examples of esto es lo que he logrado’ es realmente successful community members dando a ellos un buen ejemplo”, who have come from similar social dijo CSU segundo Daniel Medrano, and cultural backgrounds, high que es de doble especialización en schoolers can apply the possibility ciencias políticas y español y planea of college to their own lives. ir a la escuela de ley con un enfoque “It shows that just because we have en la inmigración. “Tal vez algunos a Hispanic heritage or we can speak de los errores que cometí, pueden Spanish doesn’t mean it’s any harder mostrarles lo que ellos no deben hacer. for us to go to college,” sophomore Además de compartir las experiencias, Jesus Dominguez said. “It made me los visitantes de CSU ayudan a crear think about actually going to college.” una conección entre estos estudiantes y

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fomentan la autoestima y la positividad.

“Sinceramente, estoy mucho más seguro de mí misma”, dijo la estudiante del primer año Joanna Foster-Wood.

“Sé que es un poco raro - sólo algunos estudiantes vienen cada semana - pero ellos me enseñan que a pesar de que la gente pudiera decirme que no soy capáz, yo sé mi valor y que puedo hacerlo.”

Debido a esta inspiración recién descubierta, muchos de estos estudiantes han hecho cambios en la forma en que se involucran en su educación.

“Los estudiantes son simplemente más metidos en su aprendizaje, más motivados para hacerlo bien en la escuela,” Directora del programa, Enlace Familiar, Jody Snow dijo, “Creo que se ven a sí mismos como una parte valiosa de la comunidad escolar de la prepa y la comunidad en general también.”

Caminos es un programa basado en los recursos que no sólo enseña a los estudiantes sobre el proceso de admisión a la universidad, las estrategias de ICAP, y las expectativas de la universidad, pero también motiva a los estudiantes a pensar en su futuro con una mente más abierta.

“Me ha hecho ver la vida en una manera diferente”, dijo una estudiante del primer año Lytzy Calva. “Cuando me di cuenta del tipo de personas que son los estudiantes de CSU, me veía siendo ese tipo de persona un día.”

Después de conocer a miembros exitosos de la comunidad que han venido de orígenes sociales y culturales similares, los estudiantes de la prepa pueden ver la posibilidad de la universidad en su propia vida.

“Este programa, demuestra que el hecho de que tenemos una herencia hispana o que hablamos español no quiere decir que sea todo más difícil para nosotros ir a la universidad”, dijo el estudiante del segundo año Jesús Domínguez. “(el programa Caminos) Me hizo pensar de verdad en ir a la universidad.”

6 Feb. 25, 2016

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App aids in relaxation, reflection very beneficial; the long term health perks of Cartooonist meditation have been recognized and appreciated for centuries. Headspace believes they can be Meditation has been hailed as an easy and beneficial in a modern society, and it’s clear to effective way to heal the body through the power see why. In 2016, many physiological factors of the mind. The Headspace app takes the that would usually impact us day to day are spiritual and cultural roots associated multiplied by several degrees, and taking with meditation, and translates just a few moments a day to give the mind them into modern, understandable a break can be incredibly advantageous. instructions, along with dispelling some Editor-in-Chief Evan Bode was of the myths surrounding meditation. familiar with the health benefits of Headspace is based on the meditation explained in the app. principle that modern life and “High school can be an extremely responsibilities can be stressful, busy and stressful time of our lives, repetitive, and have the and taking time out of our day tendency to rip people away for a moment of peaceful pause from things that really matter, can’t be a bad thing,” Bode said. like health and self-reflection.

“The evidence pointing toward The most fundamental aspect the positive effects of meditating of headspace philosophy regularly, as discussed in the is that self-reflection is “Science” section of the important to problem app, is considerable. It solving. Often we get may take a lot of time caught up in triviality, and effort before and this can cloud our these positive effects judgment and decisionbecome noticeable, making skills. Taking the but with patience and time to step back and gain dedication, I think daily some momentary removal meditation would prove from responsibilities to be a beneficial habit.” can provide new insight Mediation can be PHOTO BY DALENA GROEN and help to discover a valuable addition solutions to problems to anyone’s life, and that may not have been considered before. Headspace presents it in an easily accessible and To prepare for this review, five Spilled Ink members stigma-free package. The free 10-day trial provides a took the 10-day free trial of the Headspace app. fantastic introduction to meditation and simple, easy “Meditation is a little bit like sleeping when exercises for first-time meditators. My experience you’re awake,” writer Eleanor Glenn said. “I’d with Headspace was a hugely beneficial to me, summarize the experience as calming; when and taking time to slow down or take my mind off you are told to open your eyes, it is kind of like schoolwork and trivial activities was a larger perk waking up, not tired, but with all your muscles in my life than expected. We at Spilled Ink would asleep and unused to moving right away.” recommend Headspace to anyone, especially those Taking time to slow down and relax can be who feel as if their life is cluttered or out of balance.

Walker Discoe

In Brief

Band to perform during festival Parker Andrist

Head Graphic Artist

Symphonic band will perform at 1:30 p.m. in the Colorado Bandmasters Association Regional Festival hosted at FRHS, on Wednesday, March 2.

“The most important part of the CBA regional festival is that we are furthering the educational and artistic development of our students by working on literature that is challenging for an extended period of time, both artistically and technically,” Band Director David Miles said. “By bringing guest clinicians to work with us, it allows us to perform at the best of our abilities for educators critiquing us at a national level.”

New as of 2016, 32 bands will be eligible to continue on to the state level competition held at the Colorado State University Griffin Concert Hall April 11-12.

Choir auditions to begin Monday Spencer Thompson Staff Writer Auditions for 2016-2017 choir classes will be held next week. Anyone can audition, Monday through Friday in the choir room located in the music wing during all active choir periods throughout the week.

“The audition consists of a bunch of different parts,” choir director Kaitlin Miles said. “Kids are placed into a class based on their level of abilities on the areas of sight reading, rhythmic reading, and singing.”

Many different choirs, such as A capella, Tower Singers, Canta Bella, Cansone, Anima, and Signori, are offered. If students have never been in choir prior to auditions, email or visit Miles in the music office.

FCHS to host poetry night Hanna Khmelovska

Staff Writer

The first-annual FCHS Poetry Night will take place Apr. 13 from 6-8 p.m. in the Media Center.

The event is open to all students and staff members and is sponsored by the Language Arts Department, Remington Street Review, and LASA. Participants will be given time to present an original poem. Poem may be presented in any language and a projector will be available for video-based poems.

“Students always get really excited about poetry units in creative writing classes, so this is an opportunity for students to show what they created”, language arts teacher Amanda Pawelski said. “Poetry is all about expression and if you want to express yourself in any other language other than English you should be able to do that”.

Those interested may sign up in the front office.

Novel places self-identity before racial labels

Samantha Ye

In-Depth Editor Oreo. Coconut. Apple. Common foods or racial metaphors?

To be one of these metaphorical foods means to be a “sellout” to your culture, to act too “white” and not be “insert-minority-here” enough.

I learned the term “Banana” in fourth grade. An Asian-American author referred to herself as a “banana” in the sense that she felt yellow on the outside, yet white on the inside. I thought it was hilarious then. Not so much now.

Maybe because then I didn’t really care that I couldn’t read or write Chinese or that my ability to speak it degraded day by day, yet with each passing year, every visit to China strengthened the sense of guilt and isolation from a culture I’m supposedly a part of.

So I’m a banana. What now?

Surprisingly, Ebony Joy Wilkins’ novel “Sellout” gives a comforting perspective to those branded with the same title.

The protagonist, NaTasha, is one of the few African-American girls in her white, suburban

neighborhood, but when her grandmother takes her to Harlem to reconnect with her roots, she’s in for some surprising discoveries.

Despite our different situations, I connected with NaTasha’s need to fit in and inability to do so. In the suburbs, her skin keeps her from blending. In Harlem, her behavior isolates her.

“You come barging in first thing, with your ugly pressed hair and swinging the hips you wish you had and talking all proper and shit,” a girl from the Bronx crisis center, Monique, says. “Why don’t you just go back to where you came from, because we don’t want you around here no more.”

Harlem and the Bronx are a culture shock for NaTasha, but she adjusts. It seemed like a predictable, cheap ending was on its way, but one scene changed the course of the book.

When NaTasha finally chooses to get her hair braided, she lets slip she’s starting to fit in.

“Is that what these braids are about?” grandmother Tilly asks. “Because that ain’t the reason I brought you here, to be somebody else.”

Spoiler alert: bringing NaTasha to Harlem wasn’t because of her acting “too white.” It was because

she had zero individuality.

Diversifying ideas, beliefs, and cultures can actually help people, especially those of color, to understand personal identity, such as in NaTasha’s case. She takes new perspectives to stop hating the color of her skin and define herself, which doesn’t mean she gives up what she likes.

Branding some people “sellouts” can mean they genuinely know nothing about their culture, but often it means they don’t act stereotypically e n o u g h .

“You act white.

You talk white. You wear your hair white,” another girl Quiana says. “You telling me you don’t want to be white?”

NaTasha might be disconnected from a crucial part of her history, but if her interests lie with “white girl” sports, then who’s to call her an Oreo?

“I can’t help who I am,” NaTasha says.

Despite the strong racial message, the book puts self-identity before racial labels, an important message to those who are afraid they’re selling out their culture.

Although I regret not appreciating the Chinese side of my life more and am working to reclaim some of it, I’m not just a culture or a banana or an American-Born Chinese. Because before anything else, I’m me.

Spilled Ink

A&E

Feb. 25, 2016

7

HOLLYWOOD BLACK OUT Movie industry highlights racism with awards show

Who SHOULD Win

Best Picture When it comes to summer blockbusters, our expectations have been diminished to expect a handful of explosions and the typical good-guy-vs-badguy storyline. 70-year-old director George Miller took that cliché, set it on a treadmill going 250 miles per hour, and lit it on fire, with his nitro-boosted, two-hour long feminist masterpiece of mayhem.

Joseph Mason

Sports Editor Let’s get one thing straight: the Oscars are stupid. They don’t celebrate doctors, or engineers, or teachers, or anyone of real importance. They are a three-hour televised event at which people who get paid ludicrous amounts of money to look pretty on a giant screen strut around congratulating themselves on being completely out-of-touch with reality.

But I love the Oscars. I love them because I love movies, and because there is something uniquely beautiful about sitting around on a Sunday night and ignoring the problems of the world in favor of watching celebrities lounge about in couture made specifically for us to discuss the merits of, as they get their hearts broken.

I love them because movies are supposed to provide a safe way to examine ourselves, and the Oscars give us a more nuanced view of ourselves for the given year.

That is, except, when they don’t.

And 2016 is one of the years they don’t.

This was supposed to be an Oscar preview, a sort of whirlwind mega-review of the films nominated for Best Picture, the night’s most contended category. But that just didn’t seem appropriate in a year in which the Oscars, and the way we talk about them, actually do matter.

That’s because this year, only two of the Best Picture nominees prominently feature people of color, and none of them are in leading roles. The only nominees from both “Creed” and “Straight Outta Compton” are white. And all 20 of the actors nominated in the four acting categories are white.

I understand that the Academy can’t nominate based on a quota system, and I understand they tend to honor a very specific type of “serious” filmmaking. But in a year in which “Mad Max: Fury Road,” perhaps one of the most anti-Oscarbait films ever, is a strong contender for best picture, is “Tangerine” really too campy, or “Straight Outta Compton” too mainstream, to score a nomination?

Every year, good films are snubbed— it’s inevitable. But this is not simply a case of fickle voting. It’s a systemic problem, rooted deep in an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that is 94 percent white.

To add variety to this disproportionate group, the AMPAS has set a goal to double the number of women and minority members of the Academy by 2020, as well as limiting the number of years a member can be a part of the Academy, depending on how active they’ve been in the film industry.

Of course, this year’s pasty nominee list is indicative of a much larger problem in the film industry. Most of the people who make movies, behind and in front of the camera, are white, and the voices of filmmakers of color are either dismissed or limited to niche markets.

This impacts all of us—black or white, filmmaker or audience member. It’s an issue that affects how we relate to and perceive each other, and unlike the Oscars, it does actually matter.

Who WILL Win

Liberal bleeding hearts aside, “Spotlight” couldn’t be any more divergent from “Fury Road.” But whereas Miller made the year’s best film, Tom McCarthy made the year’s least explosive, and The Academy loves to reward indie films.

With the best ensemble performance the theaters saw this year, it is a deserved win but the wrong choice in a year in which Miller made a movie like no other.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Shedding his past roles of cognitive impairment, moral impairment, and unintentional accent impairment, Leonardo DiCaprio exercised his acting muscles to the max in this masterful performance of brute force and eloquent silence.

DiCaprio spent two hours rolling in the snow as we all did as 3-yearolds, so, obviously, he will get the nostalgia vote from The Academy.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA CLARK

Cate Blanchett took the role of Carol Aird, and transformed her from an object of affection into a character of depth.

The role of Aird could easily have been supremely hokey, but her subtlety grounded the dialogue along with the plot, and was a key to making “Carol” one of the year’s greatest films.

Brie Larson took us into the battered psychology of her character, Joy, in a magnificent performance deserving of praise.

She will ultimately win because Blanchett won the award two years ago for “Blue Jasmine.”

Therefore, The Academy will feel obliged to reward a new face—the new face being Larson’s.

Written by Joseph Mason

8 Feb. 25, 2016

A&E

Spilled Ink

Old Town dance scene blossoms Alexia Clark

Graphic Artist

Fort Collins is filled with mysteries and secret hideaways, to be shared in passing conversation and memories displayed for friends to see. These memories might not be believed, as various businesses are being rented by a number of popup dance studios around town. Jazz and other genres flourish throughout the week, and have managed to attract dancers of all levels from across the Front Range, with little to no advertisement.

“Word of mouth is the number one way people find out about our dance. We don’t really keep it a secret, although that would be cooler,” blues dancer Julia Way said.

Indigo Blues has a regular following of primarily college students, and has been around for about ten years. The studio began in a small coffee shop in early 2006, and has since moved to three different locations across Fort Collins before finding sanctuary in Om Ananda Yoga, which hosts lessons and an open dance floor on Friday nights from 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. The studio is open to dancers of all skill levels, and the business prides itself on the community of people that come to dance.

“Everyone is just so nice to each other,” Way said.

“It’s a really accepting community. When I came here, I immediately felt welcomed by everyone.”

A number of the dancers who attend the Friday night lessons aren’t exclusive to the Indigo Blues venue. Senior Brynna Herbener appears at several

around town, but recently has been spending her Saturday nights at another yoga studio just down the road from Om Ananda Yoga.

Old Town Yoga is less underground than its sister studio, and this venue offers both blues and swing dancing from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., which is a large draw to a number of high school and college students in the area.

“There’s a group of people that go every week or most weeks, and then there’s a bunch of new people every week,” Herbener said.

Jazz is not the only genre that has taken over the Front Range. Other studios include Salsa Sabrosa, which holds Tuesday night Salsa lessons and social dancing at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant downtown in The Agave Room, and Sundance Steakhouse and Saloon, which boasts western line dancing on Sunday nights. Entry fees start at $5, but donations are welcome to help continue the dances.

“I’m just so happy to see all of this happening, all these people laughing and talking and going in there and dancing and hanging out outside, and it’s hard to really get to the next level because of all the turnover from school scenes,” Way said. “But I guess I always have this other side goal, which is to increase the skill level and to teach people even more about dancing and teach them about the history of blues and increase their knowledge and increase their interest in this, because I love it so much, and so I want everyone to love it as much as I do.”

“It’s a really accepting community. When I came here, I immediately felt welcomed by everyone.”

—Dancer Julia Way

ABOVE: Senior Brynna Herbener participates in the weekly dance classes and sessions at Indigo Blues.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LUCY SCHULTZ PHOTOGRAPHY GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA CLARK

Fort Collins celebrates youth involved with art Adelaide Tomsic Staff Writer As a way to draw attention to youth artwork through galleries, competitions and forums, Youth Art Month was founded in 1961 by the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute and is celebrated nationally throughout March.

The Fort Collins celebration of Youth Art Month will take place March 9 – 26. Artwork done by Fort Collins students in art classes will be displayed for free public viewing Wednesdays through Saturdays from 12 - 6 p.m. at the Community Creative Center at 417 W. Magnolia St. “The purpose of it is to bring attention to art education,” Lincoln Center event organizer Jeanne Shoaff said.

Art teachers in the Fort Collins area are given an invitation to participate in a drawing for gallery space to fill with their students’ projects. They then gather works done by their students to display.

Although projects tend to be two-dimensional, artwork can be done in any medium and pedestals are available for three-dimensional pieces.

“We try to get everything in there.

Paintings, drawings, sculptures, pottery sometimes jewelry,” art teacher Tara Lanterman said. “We end up putting anywhere from thirty to forty five works of art in there.”

For younger children who may not want to look at art, entertainment is available during the show as well.

“In addition to the exhibition we will have tables out where kids can participate in creating something

with materials we put out for them,” Shoaff said.

To extend Youth Art Month, the National Arts Education Association puts on the State Flag Program. Students across the U.S. design a flag based on the theme decided by state chair people. Winners of this competition from each state have their flag design made into a real flag to be flown in Washington, D.C. for the month of March following a public ceremony.

Another competition held during Youth Art Month is the Artwork Program through which, a winning piece of art is chosen to be displayed at the Youth Art Month Museum and at the National Art Education Association convention.

The opening reception for the local event will take place March 11 from 6 - 9 p.m. Students and their families are invited to view the art and enjoy snacks.

Q&A with Julia DeMoss

Art by Julia DeMoss

Who is your artistic inspiration?

Salvador Dali. He pushes boundaries in a very beautiful way.

How do you recommend getting involved with art at FCHS? Take an art class here. Try to express yourself every day through something artistic. Draw. Sculpt.

How does your art affect you?

It allows me to communicate ideas through a medium other than words.

Julia DeMoss Senior

Anything else you want to say?

I would encourage everyone to participate in some form of art.

Spilled Ink

Student uses art as tool for growth Andrew Jessen-Tyler

Columnist Some crazy birdhouse designs cover whole trees with multiple avian dwellings or bring them together to make a five-foot-tall fence. However, one design beats them all: four birdhouses attached to a deer’s antlers, complete with a birdbath in the center. While this design has not been built and occupied by happy sparrows, it was created on paper by senior Armond Dai. Dai has drawn for most of his life, but it wasn’t until his sophomore year that he signed up for an art class. He took 2D Design first, then took Drawing and Advanced Drawing. He is currently in AP Studio Art. “It [drawing classes at FCHS] exposes you to a bunch of different kinds of drawing. There’s pen, there’s pencil, there’s colored pencil, and there’s pastel,” Dai said. “At the end of each drawing class, you have the choice so that you can do what you liked most during the unit. I feel that is when you grew the most as an artist.”

He has practiced many styles during these classes, but lately has experimented by taking different styles and clashing them in a piece. He shows off this technique in his most recent selfportrait with the geometric design of the shirt contrasting the smooth texture of the rest of the portrait. Dai described this work as experimental due to the combination of different methods.

Some of Dai’s best work includes a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar being eaten, an array of pumpkins, a hand bleeding molten lava, and many other straightforward and innovative drawings. As creative as it is, one person will often look at it with regrets: the artist.

“Most artists are really critical of themselves,” Dai said. “They want it to look exactly like the picture they have in their mind. A slight imperfection could ruin that whole thing.”

Dai’s influence for his abstract pieces comes from many artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Al Hirschfeld. More recently he has gotten inspiration from works he finds on Pinterest and Instagram.

Every new piece is a chance to improve and get the image on the page closer to the image in his thoughts. Dai attempts to explain his original intentions and thoughts on his work as he posts his creations on Bulb. All of his public works can be viewed at https:// www.bulbapp.com/armond_not_almond.

“A basic understanding of art is important for everything,” Dai said, “because art is in everything.”

Artwork by Armond Dai

A&E

Feb. 25, 2016

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10

In-Depth

Feb. 25, 2016

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Employment resources help teens cultivate workforce experience Spencer Thompson Staff Writer Money fuels many things. Whether one’s interest is in buying a new pair of sneakers, purchasing concert tickets, or paying the rent, money makes it possible. Everyone wants to make money, but only one logical way of doing so exists: getting a job.

In Fort Collins, a rich culture of small, locally-owned businesses thrive with the help of student workers. Leaping into the workforce can be as easy as writing some facts and history on a piece of paper, and shaking someone’s hand.

The Larimer County Workforce Center provides useful tools to enter the workforce. The organization posts job opportunities on their Facebook page and website, larimerworkforce. org. A visit to the website reveals an easy walkthrough process to find posted jobs that fit any preference.

One ten-minute search matching the criteria for a 16-year-old looking for part-time employment

found a listing for a pizza maker.

Another place to find helpful employment tips is in the PaCE program, offered here. That is, if you have the right contacts.

“PaCE is a useful resource,” senior Hunter Paugh said. “Mrs. [Cindy] Berg has many connections, and she can help get our names out.”

No pre requisites are needed, and students can register for the class through Synergy and on enrollment sheets found in the counseling office.

Help is also available in Berg’s office, located in the back of the counseling branch in upstairs M-hall.

In the PaCE class students earn credits based on the number of hours they work. These hours are gained through employment, which is required in PaCE. Paid employment isn’t the only way to benefit from the PaCE program, as internships earn credits as well.

Editor’s Note

“Another way into the workforce is to do an unpaid experience,” Berg said. “This will help out when filling out future applications after gaining unpaid experience.”

These unpaid experiences are a way to leap into a new career field one may hope to specialize in. By practicing exclusively in a specific field, students gain qualifications for future opportunities and will impress employers.

Experience and an informed sense of employment can mean the difference between being hired, or fired. Both PaCE, and the Larimer County Workforce center provide helpful ways students can become active members of the workforce.

It’s just a matter of effort, and proper knowledge.

Samantha Ye

EMPLOYEE

Q&A

A

meli Junio a Leinbac r h

Interv ie Thom w by Spen pson cer

Occu p Place ation: Cu s of w ork: S tomer Serv Work ic a Salar hours: 10 ther’s Jew e Technic ian (C y: Min elers.

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It dep e. ends on w here I go t o

In-Depth Editor

It happens once every four years, except in years divisible by 100, though if the year is also divisible by 400, it still occurs.

That’s right; it’s the leap year, one of the exciting facets of the Gregorian calendar.

Perhaps the only one.

Since 2016 fulfills all the previously mentioned requirements, this February will have one extra day, making the shortest month of the year slightly less short.

To celebrate this momentous event, all the stories of this issue’s In-Depth can be related back to idioms with the word “leap” in them.

Leaping into the workforce alludes to the many ways students prepare for careers after high school (pg.

10). From skills classes to internships to holding actual jobs, students have an abundance of chances to get ready for a future of labor.

One such opportunity for job training is covered on page 14. The Aims’ Emergency Medical Services Program teaches students how to leap into action when faced with medical emergencies.

Page 11 profiles a student who made a leap of faith for a mission trip and landed in Nepal.

The centerfold features a group of people often misjudged by those who jump to conclusions: teen parents.

Individual stories vary widely but the same stereotypes remain. The teen parents in our program give some insight into how biases affect their lives.

Although leap years are only every four years with occasional exceptions, the topics covered this In-Depth are year-round, every year.

GRAPHIC BY KAITLYN SCHMIDT

Do you feel school prepares you for the workforce and why?

Paige Elliott

Tyler Speer

Sofia Boyer

Sean Poliakon

“Yeah, because they give you a lot of resources to help you get ready.”

“I feel like there are certain classes that are able to help and some that are just for fun.”

“I don’t think high school prepares you for the workforce. You don’t really take classes that are relevant to real world experiences.”

“Yes, because it teaches you educational things you wouldn’t learn outside of school. It teaches you about the world around you.”

Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Spilled Ink

In-Depth

Feb. 25, 2016

leap of

fait h

Student’s faith spurs life changing mission trip to Nepal Hanna Khmelovska Staff Writer She spent twelve days in one of the poorest countries of the world. In a country that suffered an earthquake last spring, she saw devastation. She was challenged, but it was a time for her to depend on God and trust him.

Senior Samantha Rittner completed her mission trip to Nepal in January. The purpose of the trip was to build relationships and to encourage pastors and youth leaders by talking to people and hearing their life stories.

“I met incredible people and heard incredible stories about the power of faith and pray,” Rittner said.

“There are a lot of differences between Nepali and us, but we have the common ground of faith, and that’s where we are connected.”

It was her second time out of the country, and her second mission trip. El Salvador was the first and it was a medical mission trip.

“It was a different experience because El Salvador is closer to America and I know more about Latin culture and I can understand Spanish,” Samantha

Rittner said.

“Nepal was incredibly different. It was a totally different culture and language.”

Though there were many differences, some of them were welcome. According to Rittner’s

a language barrier we could still make jokes, and laugh together and had same sarcasm.”

Many people in Nepal understand English, though it can be hard for them to speak it. Rittner was asked to teach English in a school in Gorkha, Nepal.

“I had never taught in a classroom setting before so I felt very overwhelmed being placed in front of 30 students at a time that didn’t speak very good English. It was really challenging,” Rittner said. “Teaching is definitely not a strength of mine.”

Rittner was inspired by her trip to Nepal. When facing challenges, Rittner turned fears into faith and found strength in her to overcome difficulties.

“I had an incredible time in Nepal and want to return, and I honestly have no doubt that I will go back to Nepal, because this trip changed my life,” Rittner said. “I look forward to continuing to live my life on mission at home and wherever the Lord leads me in the future.”

“There are a lot of differences between Nepali and us, but we have the common ground of faith, and that’s where we are connected.”

—Sammy Rittner experience, Nepali are extremely sincere and caring people who would always ask about her and her family.

“In America, ‘How are you’ is a greeting, but in Nepal they do actually care,” Rittner said. “They don’t want you just to say ‘good.’ ” Rittner was surprised to find that Nepali and Americans have many similarities despite different lifestyles and experiences.

“I actually expected for people to be so incredibly different, but they were not. It was really awesome,” Rittner said. “Even though we had

LEFT: The missionary group stops for a selfie with local friends in Gorkha, Nepal.

ABOVE: A Nepalese child chases after one of the missionaries in a game of duck-duck-goose.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAMMY RITTNER

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12 Feb. 25, 2016

In-Depth

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About 40% of teen mothers do not receive adequate care during pregnancy.

In 2014, children of teen parents accounted for 6.3% of all births.

Daughters of teen parents are 22% more likely to become teen mothers.

25% of teen mothers have a second child within 24 months.

Couples who do not use contraception have an 85% chance of experiencing a pregnancy within a year.

34% of women become pregnant at least once before the age of 20.

Nearly 1,700 teens aged 15-17 give birth every week.

89% of teen parents are unmarried.

80% of teen mothers choose or feel the need to drop out of high school.

Information gathered by Maya Bode Sources: cdc.gov, teenhelp.com

LEAPING TO THE

WRONG CONCLUS

Teen mothers strive for lives despite hurtful ste Alex McWilliams News Editor Becoming a parent can be compared to leaping into the ocean with no previous knowledge of what it takes to swim, no matter a person’s age. However, young parents typically do not get the same respect as more mature parents due to their age or the assumptions peers make about their character or situation.

To help young parents deal with all of the challenges of raising a child, FCHS offers a program

unique in Poudre School District, specialized for students who are expecting a baby. The program, run

by Melissa Schaefer, provides young parents with information to guide them in child raising techniques.

In addition to parenting classes, classes about pregnancy prevention are taught to give parents more knowledge on the subject to create and maintain a successful lifestyle.

“We provide young parents the opportunity to learn the best ways to make individual choices,” teen parent adviser Schaefer said. “Students in this

Spilled Ink

In-Depth

Feb. 25, 2016

13

Aayaa Chavez Senior

Favorite Color: Teal Best Talent: Art Favorite Subject: Government Favorite Food: Fruit Favorite Quote: Any inspirational quote Favorite Movie: “Straight Outta Compton” Favorite Musician: The Weekend

Desine Salaz

SION

GRAPHICS BY ALEXIA CLARK

r fulfilling ereotypes

program gain knowledge and skills to be a successful parent and adult.

We offer both online and in-school classes that can be mainstreamed into regular daily classes so students don’t have to feel isolated.”

Mother of nine-month-old Leyah Shai, junior Shaila Sigward entered the program when she found out she was five months pregnant.

“I am grateful for the program, and the classes available to me here,” Sigward said. “It was nice while I was pregnant to not have to be mainstreamed into regular

classes. I always felt so judged.”

Judgments regarding a teen parent’s circumstances can often be harsh.

“People assume that these kids are promiscuous and are going to mooch off the system, and that’s not always the case,” social studies teacher Elaine Holmes said.

Sigward was presented with judgments and assumptions during her pregnancy, both from family and complete strangers.

“There was so much said about me from kids who knew nothing about me,” Sigward said. “People thought so many stereotypes, telling me that I couldn’t accomplish the same things as people who don’t have kids.”

Another common misjudgment is that the teens get pregnant only when they refuse or neglect to use contraceptives. According to Center for Young Women’s Health, even the most effective form of contraception still leaves the opportunity for 1 out of every 50 couples to become pregnant.

“Students often judge young parents without realizing that they are capable of running into the same circumstances,” Holmes said. “I think the best way to prevent these judgments is to have these kids get to know the teen parents and their struggles, to give them a face.”

Although Sigward faced such assumptions, she has not let them become a reality.

“I’m motivated to keep pushing forward,” she said. “I want to give Leyah everything.

“I plan on graduating and going to college. I don’t think having a child stops you from accomplishing your dreams. Leyah is my motivation. I feel like if you don’t like the attitude you have about your life, you’re capable of changing it,” Sigward added.

“No matter what life throws at you, you can always thrive for better.”

more than mothers

Junior

Favorite Color: Purple Best Talent: Athletic Favorite Subject: History Favorite Food: Steak Favorite Quote: “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”

— Jane Austen

Gissela Torres Freshman

Favorite Color: Red Best Talent: Basketball Favorite Food: Mashed potatoes Favorite Movie: Horror movies Favorite Musician: Kirko Bangz

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Feb. 25, 2016

In-Depth

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EMERGENCY Students gain paramedic skills in hands-on course Eleanor Glenn Staff Writer According to the National Emergency Number Association, an average of 657, 535 calls are made to 9-11 each year. Many of these are made by individuals desperate for emergency medical care.

By taking the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class, offered at FCHS through AIMS community college, students will learn skills practiced by a medical emergency first-response team, gaining the knowledge and ability to save lives.

“If I pass the exams in June, I can actually work as an EMT. I have to volunteer for a while first,” Current EMT student and senior Sam Ruff said.

“Even if I decide not to go into the medical field, if I were to get hurt or if someone else were to get hurt, I have some knowledge on how to help, which seems pretty convenient.”

Upon graduation from the EMT class, many

doors open for students within the medical or emergency field. Those who are 18 and older have the opportunity to receive EMT certification after passing the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam.

“You can work with ambulances and hospitals, you can work in the ER too,” Ruff said. “You can also become a firefighter – all firefighters have EMT certifications.”

In addition, this course is one of the first steps toward an education and career as a paramedic, and presents a basic introduction to health care that would be applicable to any medical career.

“If you want to, you can go on and do paramedic school, which takes more training and more hours logged,” Ruff said.

To prepare students fully for work in the field, the elective involves emergency simulations, ambulance ride-alongs, and weekly lectures.

“It’s very hands on and fun. You

get to play in ambulances and LEFT: With the skills she learned in class, senior pretend like Sammy Jo Elliot checks the patient simulator’s you know what vitals before the birthing begins. you’re doing,” MIDDLE: Seniors Emmalee Rutherford and Ruff said. “You Emmet Pritchard time the simulator’s pulse. just have to RIGHT: Holding the newborn baby simulator, learn how to seniors Torri Luttrell and Sam Ruff stimulate the be confident in mannequin’s touch sensors. what you know, PHOTOS BY AMANDA EVANS because you actually know it a lot better circulation. That is what you’re than you think you do when basically trained for in all those we’re running scenarios.” scenarios, just how to make sure Students begin with the they [the patients] are not dead by basics of pre-hospital emergency the time you get to the hospital.”

Because this course trains response then move on to to become true learn about patient assessment students responders, it in a medical emergency, emergency more than just and how to care for patients involves experiencing traumatic injury. registration to join. Before “So far, we’ve done basic beginning the class in the fall, medicals which is diabetic students must be obtain multiple emergencies and anaphylaxis, immunizations and be educated heart attacks, and respiratory in the CPR technique required of distress. This semester we’ll health care professionals. Also, learn traumatic incidents, like they must undergo a background car accidents and farming check and drug screening.

This elective requires students accidents, like amputations,” Ruff said. “Our first concern is to compose an application stopping life threat. You do the essay and display good work ABCs –airway, breathing, and ethic through a high GPA.

Q&A with EMT Student Sammy Jo Elliot What does training to be an EMT mean to you?

It’s training how to save someone’s life, how to respond in an emergency, pretty much just how to handle a crisis. It means trying to block out emotions, because you can’t have emotions when you run on somebody who’s having a heart attack or something like that.

GRAPHIC

BY PARKER ANDRIST

How might this class impact your future?

I want to be a neurosurgeon, so this is kind of just the first step in the medical field, and it’ll show me if I can actually handle all the blood and guts, and stuff like that. So far that’s part is going well. It’s just like the first step, but it’s good skills to have for emergency room management too.

Interview by Eleanor Glenn

Spilled Ink

Sports

PE standards encourage fitness, awareness students to become physically active for life, Guest Writer the third standard of emotional and social wellness focuses on respect being key in group More than 80 percent of adolescents don’t activities and emotional safety being important. do enough aerobic physical activity to meet “I had a student a couple years ago that had the guidelines for youth, according to the not had PE since elementary school and the parent President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. actually had done that on purpose,” Crist said. “I To help students join the 20 percent who do, did the best to make them feel more comfortable, Physical Education classes in Colorado prioritize and mom came to me at parent teacher conferences, meeting state standards. Those standards are: was pretty much in tears and was so excited m o v e m e n t and happy that understanding her child was and competence, coming home physical and and saying how •The U.S. Department of Health and Human p e r s o n a l much fun they w e l l n e s s , were having, and Services recommends teens participate in at emotional and for me that was least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. social wellness, reassuring, to and prevention make an impact •In 2013, 27.1% of high school students and risk on a kid that had surveyed had participated in at least 60 minutes management. just basically per day of physical activity on all 7 days before To meet the wanted nothing the survey, and only 29% attended physical first standard, to do with PE students must or activities and education class daily. know how to then come back Information gathered by Joseph Mason do various in three years Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ physical activities and say it’s to the best of going to be OK, their ability and understand rules and strategy. I’m going to make it.”

According to PE teacher Conrad Crist, The final standard, prevention and risk his classes include physical movement from management, is about learning how to start to finish to develop student abilities. stay physically safe while being active.

When the state asks students to evidence physical According to Crist, rules and and personal wellness, it means creating a fitness classroom management are plan and completing it so improvement occurs. important to ensure no one gets hurt.

“The way I can see it is a progression from the In some PE classes, this varies. For example, first day it begins to the end of the unit,” Crist Adventure PE is more extensive, involving said. “I will actually go talk to kids individually first aid, CPR, and mini units on risk. and not in front of the class at all. We have district Applications are required so that students performance rubrics that we fill out on kids, and we understand the risks and are responsible. do a pre-class evaluation and a post-class evaluation According to Crist, it comes down to and also district written assessments too.” one goal: “My main objective for PE is While the fitness plan is also meant to inspire so that students can exercise every day.”

Molly Lubbers

Feeling Physical

Rugby differs from standard sport Maya Bode

Managing Editor

In many sports, tossing the ball backward might be considered, well, backward, but in this sport, it’s the only way to make a pass.

The unique sport of rugby will be displayed in Littleton this Saturday at 12 p.m. when the Fort Collins Hammers play Littleton. Practices began in January, and this will be their first game of the season.

Rugby is a distinctive sport, so some players feel not everyone has an accurate understanding of the rules of the game.

“A lot of people don’t know how it’s played until they watch it,” senior rugby player Antoni Lieser said.

Because rugby is a tackling sport, it is frequently compared to football, but several differences between the two sports exist.

“It’s a little bit harder than football,” Lieser said. “You’re running a lot more in rugby.”

According to worldrugby.org, in addition to generally requiring more running, rugby

teams are made of more people, less gear is required, the ball has a larger circumference, the sport is played worldwide, and the rules are generally regarded as more complex.

“The objective is to score a try, which is basically just a touchdown, and the main rule that you need to know when playing rugby is to never pass forward,” sophomore Keith Pixler said.

Along with passing backward, another occurrence specific to rugby is known as rucking, when the ball is dropped and players advance toward it.

“The two teams converge over the ball to drive each other off to get possession,” Pixler said.

Since rugby is considered a club sport, teams from Loveland and Greeley often compete as well as teams from PSD. “I meet a lot of kids from different schools,” Lieser said.

Many kids play rugby, and the teamwork involved can be appealing to some players.

“I like that it’s a group sport,” senior Sahro Seong, who has been playing rugby for four years, said.

“That’s an important part about rugby for me.”

Upcoming Events Track & Field

Girl’s Soccer

•Thursday, March 10 Golden Spike @ French Field - 2 p.m.

•Wednesday, March 16 Arapahoe Tournament •Friday, March 18 Arapahoe Tournament •Saturday, March 19 Arapahoe Tournament

Baseball •Tuesday, March 22 - @ Mountain View - 4 p.m.

GRAPHICS BY PARKER ANDRIST

Feb. 25, 2016

15

Mindless

Sports

Minutiae

Quarterback’s antics lead to downfall

Joseph Mason Sports Editor

Johnny Manziel is the latest. He succumbed to his demons and is out of the NFL. He joined the likes of Dwight Gooden, Todd Marinovich, and Len Bias as a member of the club of athletes who threw away their talent for their vices.

The main malefactor tearing down athletes has evolved from cocaine to alcohol. Cocaine developed the stigma of being synonymous with “death” and “destruction.” Bias was the talented face who never reached his potential due to an overdose. He set the alarm for athletes. But players haven’t heard the warning about alcohol. One person has already died, but he didn’t become the cautionary tale they needed. The victim didn’t have the “star power” for it to become the wake-up call.

But Manziel has the notoriety. Manziel had a certain swagger to his play that made every game he played a magnetic event, for a short time. Whether you were rooting for him to fail or succeed, you had to watch.

And those who rooted for his failure have gotten their wish. Now, Manziel is under investigation for domestic assault and is back to his alcoholic ways. We’ve seen this happen before and the only question to ask is whether it will ever end. It’s been less than four years since Javon Belcher killed his girlfriend and himself when he had double the legal limit of alcohol in his tortured system.

Manziel’s story is eerily similar. He is a known alcoholic who has a history of domestic violence and reportedly threatened to kill himself. His own dad said he doubts Johnny will live to see his 24th birthday.

So if Manziel continues to fall into this abyss, you would expect him to become the deterrent example rather than just a tragedy.

But the problem is he is a divisive character.

Too many people fail to sympathize with Manziel. He is a character for whom very few people rooted. He showboats too much.

He isn’t traditional. He is a privileged jerk.

But the people who like him, love him. He was the most electric college football player for a twoyear span—he was a legend. He was righteous gunslinger “Johnny Football.” He was able to take an ordinary game and an ordinary life and make them his own. His antics kept his fans on edge. He lived in an unhinged reality where he participated in every prohibited activity. He was America’s outlaw. He was always straddling the line and he finally crossed it. And now it is unlikely for him to ever get a new job in the NFL. He threw away his career for a bottle of alcohol, and with it he threw away his fans.

16

Sports

Feb. 25, 2016

Which

Spilled Ink

sport should you play?

Do you like the cold?

Flowchart by Walker Discoe

Do you want physical activity?

No

How much do you like running?

Yes

Y

Love it!

e s

N o

It’s OK

Curling

Do you like running for a long time?

No

es

Y

Track & Field

Cross Country

Croquet

Balls or pucks?

Pu

Hands Mud?

ck s

Mud? Basketball

Mud!

Feet

Hate it!

Balls

Feet or Hands?

Roller Blades or

Ice Skates?

Skates

Classes Rugby

What? or

Yes!

700 cc?

700 cc

Kickball

Street Hockey

Hockey

Road Cycling

Do you like bikes?

27.5

Soccer

Ice

27.5

Dirt

Grass

Grass or dirt?

Blades

Spin

Mountain Biking

N o

You’re lying.

Restart

GRAPHICS BY PARKER ANDRIST AND ALEXIA CLARK

Spilled Ink

Sports

Feb. 25, 2016

17

Coaching California

Coach’s zeal leads to success in NFL

with Stanford to become their co-defensive coordinator. In his only year, he led Stanford to the nation’s third ranked rushing defense.

The following year he was signed to newly-hired Dennis Allen’s coaching staff as the Oakland Raider’s defensive coordinator—a job he had written down as his “dream job” 26 years earlier.

“So having done that, it was really amazing,” Tarver said. “What is great is the environment and the fan base—I was one of those crazy fans Joseph Mason growing up, and being able to work for them and with them was an honor.”

Sports Editor In Tarver’s first year, the Raiders went from allowing the 29th most He is jacked up. You can see it in the way he holds himself. But yards to allowing the 18th. During that same year, he was fined for he’s not on amphetamines, he’s on football—the thing flipping off the game’s officials. It was a gesture induced that lost him $15,000 and consumed his personal by the delirious mindset of being a football coach. and professional life for the last 20 years.

“The intensity is just who you are at all times,” he said.

Jason Tarver, brother of FCHS offensive After doing his dream job for three years, he coordinator James Tarver, has been coaching returned to San Francisco as their linebackers coach, in the NFL for 14 years and has been this time under former Philadelphia head coach freebasing the coaching drug since 1996.

Chip Kelly, the tenth coach Tarver has worked for.

Jason Tarver played both sides of the ball in “Every good coach has his philosophy of what high school, and earned a scholarship to play he believes in,” Tarver said. “And then as a position at Santa Clara University, but, just months coach your job is to help the guys get better and later, their football program disbanded. He also to get them to fit and play well within the then played at West Valley College while system that the head coach has set for them.” earning a master’s degree in biochemistry Tarver is eager to fit into Kelly’s unique scheme. and molecular biology from Santa Clara.

“I’m excited to work under Chip Kelly because During his second season he blew out his he’s got a neat philosophy of a spread offense that has knee for a second time and his playing days were been very successful wherever he has been,” he said. over. But he didn’t leave the gridiron. He joined the Adjusting to the different systems and creating his West Valley College coaching staff for his senior year. own game plans is one of the things Tarver relishes about “I beat my body up pretty good, being a part of the coaching universe. beat my knees up pretty good,” he said.

“What is cool and what is “But I just couldn’t get enough of it.” great about being a coach is Following short tenures at West working on things all week or Valley College and UCLA, he got his all season and watching them first job with the San Francisco 49ers.

•West Valley College (1996–1997) come true in the game,” he said.

“They contacted me, and I Looking forward to this Linebackers, defensive backs and special teams contacted them,” he said. “And I aspect of the game has helped was going to take another job at the Tarver reach this point.

•UCLA (1998–2000) last minute, and then coach Steve “Whatever job is presented to you, Graduate assistant Mariucci called me and said ‘Get your you do it to the best of your ability, butt on a plane—come up from L.A.’ daily,” he explained. “I really like the •San Francisco 49ers (2001–2003) And I was able to get a job with them.” challenge of getting better daily and After nine years with San Offensive quality control coach working on a project. Getting better Francisco, Tarver signed a deal daily is one of the keys to anything.”

Coaching History

•San Francisco 49ers (2004) Assistant running backs coach

•San Francisco 49ers (2005–2010) Outside linebackers coach •Stanford (2011) Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach •Oakland Raiders (2012–2014) Defensive coordinator •San Francisco 49ers (2015–present) Linebackers coach

During halftime of a game, Jason Tarver discusses plays with Tully Banta-Cain (95) and Parys Haralson (98). PHOTOS COURTESY OF JASON TARVER

18

Sports

Feb. 25, 2016

Iseri Palacio Junior

When did you start playing basketball?

PHOTO COURTESY OF ISERI PALACIO

Interview by Joseph Mason

Spilled Ink Since I was like four. My dad played in the NBA and he taught me. And I always watched him when I was younger.

Basketball

What is the most challenging aspect of basketball?

I just want to play basketball in college, specifically Syracuse. That’s my biggest goal.

What are your goals, looking forward?

The will to play every day and try to get better.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?

I don’t think I have one. I don’t think it’s come yet.

What I’m trying to accomplish is to be All-State First Team.

What has been your greatest memory?

Probably all of last season because of how fun it was, and the guys I was playing with—they were all like brothers and it was just fun.

Palacio tied a school record of 12 assists this past month, in a win against Monarch. He leads FCHS in assists per game (5.3), free throw percentage (82%), and is second in points per game (12.3).

OF

ATHLETE

MONTH

THE Luttropp is a member of the FCHS girls swim and dive team and swims a mile every day.

She placed at the State Preliminaries two weeks ago.

When did you start swimming?

Since I was nine. I didn’t like any other sports and I liked swimming because it wasn’t hard on my hips and it cooled me off in the summertime.

Who has influenced you the most, as a swimmer?

Probably my coach, because he pushes me to do better and he’s a very nice person.

Have you ever wanted to give up?

Yes, but I haven’t because it’s good for me to keep going, and I know that. Also it doesn’t hurt my hips to do, and I want to keep going and keep pushing through.

What is the most challenging aspect of swimming?

Not being able to breathe..

What has been your favorite memory?

I got the Best Teammate Award and I got a mug.

Also singing “Call Me Maybe” on the blocks at State.

Interview by Joseph Mason

Kennedi Luttropp Sophomore

Swimming PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNEDI LUTTROPP

Spilled Ink

Perspectives

Feb. 25, 2016

19

Staff Ed Preventing vandalism requires help from everyone Vandalism can be found all over town, on the sides of buildings and train cars. However, vandalism is against the law and should be extremely frowned upon, especially in school or work settings. In a building where learning takes place, students should be expected to be courteous of their surroundings and the jobs of our school custodians, and recognize the amount of labor and money sacrificed to remove blemishes from the bathrooms.

As the student body of FCHS, we should take pride in and have respect for a place we spend an average of seven hours per week day.

Ruining the walls in the hallways or bathrooms that are shared is disrespectful to yourself, the entire population of the school, and visitors.

Respect is not the only problem: vandalism is also expensive and difficult for staff to remove. The custodial staff is in charge of everything related to the cleanliness of the school and often remains in the building hours after school has let out. It can be very strenuous for them to have to continuously have to remove defacement day after day.

According to Head Custodian Carole Tuck, if the graffiti is in pen, it takes custodians an average of three hours scrubbing it off with graffiti remover, which damages the paint. The graffiti that gets carved into the paint costs the school $200 every time they have fix the chips in the paint.

The most effective way to prevent this type of damage to the building is raising awareness, according to Tuck. The more students become aware of people damaging the stalls the easier it will be to narrow down the search for the students doing it. If you hear scratching in the stalls or notice suspicious behavior in the restrooms, report it to a staff member immediately.

Small acts of vandalism can easily be prevented if each witness chooses to be above them. Instead of continuing the damaging chain, take a stand and choose to erase or at least not partake. Let us all stand together as Lambkins to prevent future damages.

GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA CLARK

Lack of uniformity in classroom policies, online resource use creates confusion

Adelaide Tomsic Writer

Classroom policies vary greatly. It’s to be expected as all teachers have their own styles and needs to be met in order to teach their subjects. However, this lack of uniformity throughout school rules and online resource use can become inconvenient for students.

Students keep track of an excess of classroom procedures. Teachers have varying homework, late-work and test-make-up policies.

“For Front Range classes if you are late, you get no points and for anatomy, points are docked,” junior Anthony Deteiler said.

For students who rarely have late work, this could be confusing. A student may expect to have until the end of the unit but may then be told they needed to turn in the assignment on the day it was due to earn any credit at all.

The lack of uniformity of late-work policy even spans the entire district. The most difficult part of freshman year was not being able to retake tests or turn in assignments late as I had been able to do in middle school. I had to make the adjustment with no transition.

Along with the great number different

late-work procedures is a multitude of online resources, some of which share similar functions. I have an account for what seems to be every forum available to do school work and tests on: Quizlet, VHL, Conjugemos, Prezi, Google Classroom, Bulb, Prentice Hall, Edmodo, and Blackboard, to name a few.

Using the word of an eight-year-old, it’s “redonkulous” to use so many online resources serving similar purposes. Google Classroom, Edmodo and Blackboard serve as forums for teachers to describe assignments to students and for students to turn in assignments. VHL and Conjugemos feature quizzes for students to practice what is being taught in their World Language classes.

District teachers should come to a consensus as to which program is the best for each specific function, preventing us from being members of numerous websites with many passwords to remember and junk e-mails to skim through.

“It would be a really good idea to simplify. The school wants us to do all these different things on all these websites. It can be confusing,” junior Bryane Gallego said.

Uniformity of websites and online resources can be achieved throughout the school district through a process similar to textbook adoption, at which one textbook is chosen by a board of teacher representatives to teach the curriculum for a class and insure all students districtwide gain a uniform knowledge of the topic.

Along with coming to a consensus about online resource use, teachers could also collaborate to establish one district wide late-work policy.

Amateur Hour

COMIC BY WALKER DISCOE

20

Feb. 25, 2016

Perspectives

Spilled Ink

Heavy homework load burdens students

Nick Hawley Staff Writer

It’s always been an issue for students.

It causes heavy backpacks, cluttered computers, and lost hours of sleep.

It’s one of the few things that students can agree on. It’s homework, the one thing students hate in this school.

Teachers need to reduce the amount of homework that they give to students, not just because kids don’t like it, but because of the physical health risk of having the amount of homework students currently have.

Some freshmen, such as Skylar Beneck, are getting about 4.5 hours of homework per night, compared to the recommended 1.5. And not all of it seems useful.

“I feel like homework is a good thing,” Beneck said. “But it starts to feel like busywork after a while.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, students get about 3.5 hours of homework each night, on average. This is more than what the National Education Association and the National Parent-Teacher Association recommend. Based on their estimates, freshmen should get 90-100 minutes of homework per night; sophomores, 100110; juniors, 110-120; and seniors, 120-130.

This homework can add up to more than just hours. Other possible issues with too much homework include how heavy it is. Assignments, laptops, and textbooks can make a student’s backpack very heavy, which may lead to back problems. According to a 2009

study by the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, about 33.5 percent of the 184 students they surveyed reported pain attributed to their backpacks. This pain can be the start of something much worse, such as a curved spine or the rounding of the shoulders, according to the Huffington Post.

The simple fix of just assigning less homework is complicated by the fact that different classes require different amounts of work. Also, a math teacher and an English teacher can’t exactly talk and collaborate with each other on a daily basis. They would have to add more time into the day to collaborate and plan the total homework load.

These combined make it very difficult to organize and set a certain amount of work for each student. The only way this can be really solved is if the teachers communicate, do the math, and try to change the way they assign homework.

GRAPHIC BY PARKER ANDRIST

Personal vulnerability proves essential to connection

Evan Bode

Editor-in-Chief Most scientific researchers deal with hard facts and clear-cut data. In Dr. Brené Brown’s unique field, however, things aren’t so straightforward.

“I am interested in some messy topics,” Brown said. “But I want to be able to make them not messy. I want to understand them. I want to hack into these things that I know are important and lay the code out for everyone to see.”

In her pioneering work, Brown delves into the dissection and analysis of dauntingly difficult topics that, despite their pervasiveness in our daily lives, are rarely discussed or studied.

She has spent her career studying facets of human experience such as vulnerability, imperfection, shame, authenticity, courage, empathy, and wholeheartedness, all of which play fundamental roles in social connection, a crucial source of fulfillment we are biologically hardwired to seek.

“Connection is why we’re here,” Brown said. “It’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. This is what it’s all about.”

After conducting hundreds of interviews and processing thousands

of stories, Brown produced fascinating findings regarding what cultivates connection and what hinders it, which she explains in her popular 2010 TED Talk, “The power of vulnerability.”

In the talk, Brown argues that willingness for personal vulnerability is an essential key to forming social bonds.

“In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen,” she said.

However, in a culture in which imperfection is scorned and sensitivity is stigmatized, finding the courage to be open and vulnerable can be terrifying, especiallywhensuccessisnotguaranteed.

As an alternative, we tend to conceal our authentic selves as a protective measure that helps us deal with shame.

“Shame is really easily understood as the fear of disconnection,” Brown said. “Is there something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won’t be worthy of connection?”

This universal, underlying fear of unworthiness affects our behavior in countless ways. For instance, we numb feelings of disappointment, insecurity, and shame by indulging in excessive food, television, alcohol, or through various other means.

This avoidance, Brown believes, leads to a dangerous downward spiral, because in the process of numbing negative emotions, one inevitably numbs all aspects of life.

“You cannot selectively numb,” she said. “So when we numb those [hard feelings], we numb joy, we numb

TALKS FOR

TEENS

gratitude, we numb happiness.”

The question, then, becomes how to reverse this unhealthy cycle.

By studying similarities among subjects who led more fulfilled lives, Brown found a potential answer.

“There was only one variable that separated the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging and the people who really struggle for it,” Brown said.

“And that was, the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they’re worthy of love and belonging.”

Therefore, opening oneself up to accept vulnerability comes down to a sense of self worth, and this involves forgiving one’s own imperfections.

“These folks had, very simply, the courage to be imperfect,” Brown said.

“They had the compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others, because, as it turns out, we can’t practice compassion with other people if we can’t treat ourselves kindly.”

Embracing vulnerability can be especially difficult during adolescence, when we tend to be particularly self-conscious and concerned with others’ perceptions.

Name of Talk: “The power of vulnerability”

Presenter: Brené Brown Despite this, as Brown points out, sharing your authentic self yields a richer sense of belonging, and treating yourself with compassion stops a cycle of shame and fear.

“As a result of authenticity, they [subjects] were willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were,” Brown said.

By increasing awareness about Brown’s impactful research into the realm of human connection, we can ignite a broader conversation about the choices we make and the internal challenges we face as human beings, no matter how complicated and messy they may be.

Perspectives

Spilled Ink

Feb. 25, 2016

21

Early school start prevents needed sleep for teens

Eleanor Glenn Staff Writer

The absolute worst part of the day for many is when the alarm clock goes off in the morning.

Crawling out of bed, barely awake, at 6 a.m. or earlier, we are forced into the hectic rush of preparing for school. The occasional student starts off the morning after a long and restful sleep. However, many of us can only wish that that were the case.

According to nationwidechildrens.org, the average teen gets only 7-7.5 hours of sleep per night, though studies recommend 9-9.5 hours of sleep.

Many factors play in to students’ lack of sleep, but much of it has to do with countless hours spent trying to be both a successful student and a happy teenager.

Commitments to family and relationships are just as important as the numerous demands of school. And between homework, extracurricular activities, the math tutor, and, of course, a social life, teenagers have too much to do in too little time.

With everything that has to be done, sleep is the least of our worries. But in fact, sleep affects us way more than we think. Studies show that getting more sleep can sharpen learning and problem solving skills as well as

improve mood, motivation and stress levels.

Much of this enhanced brain function is a result of better health. According to healthysleep. med.harvard.edu, “certain physiological activities associated with digestion, cell repair, and growth are often greatest during sleep, suggesting that cell repair and growth may be an important function of sleep.” Getting to bed on time is crucial for a healthy lifestyle.

Freshman Kailey McDaniels gets only four to five hours of sleep on the average school night.

After a late night of homework, McDaniels has to wake up with enough time to complete farm work and get to school by 7:30 a.m.

“Around sixth period, I start to get really tired and unable to focus,” McDaniels said.

As teenagers, our internal clock, known as the circadian system, shifts forward one to two hours later than its previous state before puberty. Because of this, it’s perfectly natural for teens to begin feeling drowsy at 10 p.m.

When the entire purpose of schooling is to help students learn, it just doesn’t make sense for schools to begin at a time which hinders our ability to do so.

According to nces.ed.gov, 40 percent of public U.S. high schools start earlier than 7:59 a.m. With our high school’s earlier-than-average starting time of 7:30 a.m., following natural sleep patterns and arriving at school on time would allow students around eight hours of sleep, more than an hour short of what is recommended. To keep students sharp and awake throughout the school day, school should start at 8:30 a.m. or later.

GRAPHIC BY PARKER ANDRIST

SLEEP WANTED

How many hours of sleep do you get each night? Why?

Natalie Lieza Freshman

“8 to 9 hours, because I have a lot of homework every day and sometimes speeches to write.”

Daniel Van Farowe Sophomore

“5 to 6 hours, because I have homework to do.”

Preston Foxx

Louis Cisneros

“10 hours, because I do all my homework in the morning.”

“7 hours, because I get home from the gym late.”

Junior

Senior

22

Feb. 25, 2016

Perspectives

Spilled Ink

g n i t But

Head

s

Coffee protects against disease, provides energy

Coffee harms health with addictive qualities

Andrew Jessen-Tyler

Kevin Sulllivan Photographer

Columnist Every morning, students can be seen walking to class first hour with a Starbucks’ coffee cup or a personal mug from home filled with a warm brown beverage. Students do this not just for the delicious drink, but for a jolt of energy to stay awake during first hour. A daily dose of coffee also provides even more benefits and should be considered a healthy beverage.

According to Harvard School of Public Health, a cup of coffee can protect against numerous diseases, such as type2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver diseases. It also can strengthen the human heart and reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular d i s e a s e s .

Of course, the stereotype propagated by coffee haters seems to be it has way too many negative effects. Two of these complaints are the “coffee stunts your growth” myth and coffee preventing healthy sleep schedules.

The common myth of coffee stunting growth has undergone numerous studies to prove it false. One such study was done by science reporter Joseph Stromberg for the Smithsonian.

He is one of the many sources who says coffee does not cause growth stunts and will not reduce bone mass.

The other major issues with coffee, such as sleep deprivation, are all due to caffeine. According to the National Sleep Foundation, it takes roughly six hours for half of the caffeine to be eliminated from the body after GRAPHIC BY consumption. A single drink in the PARKER ANDRIST morning to stay awake in class would wear off before the evening and would not cause sleep issues.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that teens Coffee helps students should not consume more than • Some students need 100 milligrams of caffeine a day, and adults should not consume a kick of caffeine to more than 300 to 400 milligrams focus in first hour. per day. A single-eight-fluid ounce cup of coffee is around 90 milligrams of caffeine, so a single • Coffee does not cup does not exceed this limit.

With coffee preventing so many stunt growth or reduce diseases and concerns with it being bone mass. uncorrelated with the drink, it makes sense for people to drink • A cup of coffee coffee in the morning. So, when students are required to learn a new in the morning will math equation at 8 in the morning, not affect your sleep coffee provides the jolt of energy to get going and will provide drinkers schedule with a healthy morning beverage.

Talking Points:

While alcohol, tobacco, and other addictive substances have strict laws limiting who can obtain them, one addictive substance exists with many negative aspects and no legal age limit.

Caffeine, a stimulant drug which currently is available for all ages, can be harmful to a person’s health, and should have a legal limit for its acquisition as other harmful drugs like alcohol do.

Coffee is a common way Americans get their caffeine fix and according to a study by the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, 55.3 percent of beverage-based caffeine in America is consumed through coffee.

Caffeine can be an addictive substance and many people become dependent on a cup of coffee without realizing it.

While current scientific studies haven’t proven caffeine to be clinically addictive, according to MedicineNet.com caffeine can induce a clinical dependence even with as little as one cup a day.

According to The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment, a dependence means the body relies on an external source of the drug to avoid negative effects.

When examining studies involving caffeine withdrawal, doctors at Johns Hopkins University found common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include headache, fatigue, drowsiness, irritable mood, difficulty concentrating, nausea, and muscle pains.

“Coffee is just plain bad,” junior Corinne Farley, who recently stopped drinking coffee, said.

“Withdrawal effects are horrible. I just wouldn’t do it.”

As well as being detrimental to one’s health, coffee can also prove to be a costly habit. According to a study by The Consumerist, American workers will generally spend more than $20 a week on their daily brew, adding up to a yearly average of about $1,092. This yearly cost comes close Coffee hurts students to the average of $1,476 spent per • The average yearly year by workers on commuting.

So while it may not seem like cost of drinking coffee much, spending money on some adds up to $1,092. mocha can add up to a major part of the average worker’s spending.

Because of the price of • Caffeine can induce coffee, many people will a clinical dependence, choose a cheaper alternative.

“I believe that water, milk, • According to the juices, and other cheaper, more nourishing drinks are much better,” CDC, Caffeine can junior Katherine VanShaar said. cause insomnia, So while the decision to drink a excitement, tachycardia caffeinated beverage comes down to what the student thinks, the negative and polyuria. aspects of coffee and caffeine can prove to be more harmful than helpful.

Talking Points:

Spilled Ink

Perspectives

Feb. 25 ,2016

23

Personal definition of beauty outweighs others’ opinions

Amanda Evans

Perspectives Editor I was on the Internet when I came across into a link labeled “How beauty is ugly.” I clicked on it thinking it would be an article on suicide awareness.

And my heart dropped when I discovered I was wrong. The pain was saturated in this teenage girl’s face as she confessed what had brought her to this point.

The tears rolled as she explained that she had never been called beautiful and had received tormenting comments on a daily basis. She took her life that night, and her parents posted her video, hoping it would stop others from repeating their daughter’s actions.

It’s heartbreaking to see how the desire to be considered beautiful has overpowered everything else in life. I wish a magic light switch could be turned on every time I feel someone needs to be shown what they truly are: beautiful.

The ability to see ourselves as beautiful has decreased and I view this as a serious problem.

The world has come up with this idea that it’s everyone else’s job to define how beautiful a person is. But it’s not up to everyone else to decide. You are the only person who can determine how beautiful you are.

In fact to even consider achieving perfection is ridiculous, because you can’t find just one definition of beauty; there isn’t an instruction manual.

If you type “define beauty” into Google, you are presented with over 83 million results, consisting of websites and links that present s e v e r a l dictionaries, poets, artists, scholars, and scientists all trying to define one word.

And the definition changes depending on your background and what has happened to mold who you are now.

Since so many definitions exist, it’s not plausible for you to fit the definition of perfection that someone else created. You are not them and you can be perfect only to your standards.

We can see what the media’s definition of beauty is from the covers of magazines. It’s

not a secret that the media are responsible for photoshopped images on tabloids or for saying someone’s looks are not up to par. Yet some celebrities like Meghan Trainor, are standing up against the media and the fake beauty they present.

We should be more like Trainor and stand up against these unrealistic goals. Don’t try to fit someone else’s ideas; create yours. You will find your own when you follow your heart and your beauty will radiate when you do.

Surround yourself with positive people who will help you discover your inner beauty, not the people who are going to try to change you.

You deserve better than to be told you have to do and look a certain way.

It’s exhausting trying to tailor everything about yourself for someone else’s pleasure. We shouldn’t care about others’ standards as long as we are meeting our own. The only person who has a definition that matters is you. Consider what makes you happy, because that’s when you are the most stunning you will ever be. We have the tools to accomplish this, yet we neglect to put them to use, and that’s the way it goes.

Amanda’s Tips Spend time trying to find who you truly are. It makes everything you do mean more.

Try tuning society’s standards out every once in a while so you can hear what you think.

Beauty should be measured by your actions, not your appearance.

Loving yourself first is one of the best ways to spark inner beauty.

Others may try to put you down, not because they hate you, but because they may have their own insecurities.

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Spilled Ink is published nine times yearly by the newspaper staff of Fort Collins High School, 3400 Lambkin Way, Fort Collins, Colo. 80525, (970) 488-8199. Member of the Colorado High School Press Association, American Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. Recipient of the Quill and Scroll, George H. Gallup Award in 1996 and 1997, and awarded First Place with Special Merit in 2001 by the National Scholastic Press Association. Columns are the opinions of writers only. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Spilled Ink staff. Nothing in Spilled Ink should be considered the opinion of Fort Collins High School or Poudre School District (PSD). School-sponsored publications written by students are encouraged to freely and creatively express their views subject to the limitations of PSD Board Policies and state law (PR--la0431, Colorado Revised Statutes 22-1-120) Spilled Ink reserves the right to edit letters to the editor and to deny publication to any letter. Letters may be published on Spilled Ink’s website. Letters must be signed, and are limited to 300 words.

24 Feb. 25, 2016 The Backside

Spilled Ink

What’s one leap of faith you’ve taken in your life?

GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA CLARK

Leslie Dvorak

Kaylee Bulmer

Senior

Sophomore

“I’m going to take a leap of faith and go to Texas State.”

Alex Bunker

“Going to get help when I really needed it when I was down.”

Zeus Alcon

Emily Adams

“Moving to America, because it’s like exploring the unknown.”

“Going here [FCHS], because I didn’t want to go here.”

Roie Karni

Corey Lange

Junior

Senior

Sophomore

“Moving here from Chicago, because I really didn’t know what to expect.”

Katie Trippe Freshman

Junior

Freshman

“My leap of faith I am dealing with now is ADHD.”

“I was a shy little boy and I wanted to branch out, so I applied for Student Council.”

“Balancing my sports and academics. Both require a lot of time and effort.”

Spilled Ink is a four year All-Colorado Newspaper

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