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The Little Hawk Feature Magazine December 20th, 2013
FEATURE
HOME
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Senior year, on their own.
pg. 8-11
LH FEATURES Issue 3, Vol. 71 • December 20, 2013
6 Tweet Play Love How 21st-century technology is changing relationships.
3 Teacher Profile A journey through Mr. Koepnick’s musical past
by Payton Evans
by Lilly Reitz
13 Living Alone Seniors are learning lessons about adulthood – by living on their own.
4 Student Profile Erin Patterson opens up about students with disabilities by Elena Foster
5 Holiday Recipes Fun side dishes for this season’s dinners prepared by Dominic Balestrieri-Fox
by Leah Hoelscher
4
Generation Selfie
Oxford English Dictionaries named “selfie” the word of the year. What is driving the phenomenon, and why are teenagers so obsessed? by Caroline Brown
15 Winter Fashion Three girls talk about different approaches to dressing for the cold.
by Elena Foster and Micah Cabbage
December 20, 2013 LH FEATURE MAGAZINE 2
Happenings
Teacher Profile
Kevin Koepnick ‘Keep Singing’ For over 20 years, biology teacher Kevin Koepnick has been the voice of City High. Be it his marching band announcements, or narration of every home football game, Koepnick is there. However, Koepnick has another voice not heard quite as often: his singing voice. Koepnick was a two-year All State singer in high school, and a member of the chorus when he attended the University of Iowa. This hobby of his stems back to his roots of growing up in a small central-Iowa town just outside of Marshalltown. “My family is very musical. My dad and brother in law have both been church organists. I was exposed to music growing up,” Koepnick said. After every Sunday family dinner, he and his family would gather around the piano and sing hymns together. “We weren’t even really that religious,” Koepnick said. “We would just sing every Sunday, all together.” 3
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Music was very important to Koepnick throughout his entire high school and college career. “Music for me, however awful that Organic Chem exam was or how beaten up I felt, music puts you somewhere else, it puts you in a place of beauty,” Koepnick said. Koepnick spent his childhood singing at his church and in his high school, but his most interesting choral experience happened shortly after arriving at City High. In 1984, Koepnick teamed up with Jack Kennedy, Tom Yates, and Bruce Wilson as a quartet for the year’s faculty show. Yates and Kennedy had a rock band of fellow teachers and community members just before forming the quartet. “They had a pretty hot band,” Koepnick said, “But some of the members moved away, and the band broke up.” Although Koepnick, Wilson and Yates were all musicians, they struggled to come up with their set list. “The problem was, we weren’t a band and didn’t know any music,” Koepnick said. “All we had to do was dip-dip and doo-op and Jack
Kennedy did everything else.” Their teacher quartet was an immediate success. “We were called back on stage for an encore the first night,” Koepnick said. The fame didn’t stop there, however. After their first performance at the faculty show, the quartet was immediately offered gigs around Iowa City to perform for many different occasions; one of them being a 3AM performance at the Party After Prom in 1985. “We spent the whole winter just listening to music and practicing, after finally learning about 45 minutes worth of music, we did Party After Prom, and it went well, so we did it the next year,” Koepnick said. Despite all of the practice and progression the quartet made, learning lyrics and music was still a struggle for it’s members, excluding Jack Kennedy. “Jack Kennedy has a curse… He can’t hear the song without memorizing the lyrics. He knows every top 40 song since, probably, 1952,” said Koepnick. Koepnick has his own memorization talent as well. “Me, I can’t get the summer of 1974 out of my head. Those brain cells should be doing something more useful,” he said as he reminded himself of his least favorite song of that summer, ‘Daddy Please Don’t it Wasn’t His Fault.’ The fame didn’t stop at Party After Prom, the quartet spent the next 13 years performing all around Iowa City. “Hills Bank had us perform at all of their functions, and we were the opening act for Art’s Fest here in Iowa City for a few years. We even performed at the Coralville 4th of July celebration,” Koepnick said. After 13 years of singing together, the quartet eventually split up. “Eventually, Jack moved, and that was it,” Koepnick said. He remembers the band fondly and would sing with them again if he had the chance, “All of those guys were pretty amazing musicians,” Koepnick said. Koepnick still sings today in his church choir at the Congregational United Church of Christ. “Sometimes I do solo work at church. If it’s not too long or too complicated, I’ll do it,” Koepnick said. To offer advice to young vocalists, Koepnick had one piece of advice: “Keep singing.” – LILLY REITZ
Happenings
Student Profile
Erin Patterson She changes perspectives by overcoming challenges Obscenities echo off the walls of City High. Little hawks call each other names and use derogatory terms without understanding the meaning behind them. Erin Patterson ‘15 walks down the hallways and constantly hears her name across the hall. She waves with a friendly smile and skips down to a special education room. An hour later, Patterson stares at the vocabulary projection
on the overhead with her brow furrowed. She raises her hand and says, “I don’t understand.” Patterson has been involved in best buddies for three years and currently serves on the Best Buddies leadership team as the buddy director. She applied for the position because she wanted to help people. “I’m not afraid to ask for help, because I know that everybody needs some help at one point or another,” Patterson said. “I’m afraid of when people stop asking for help, because that means they think that they know everything.” Patterson strives to be involved in everything she can be. She wakes up in the morning and challenges herself to find something good
in each day whether it’s playing basketball or dancing in the little hawkettes. “I make a lot of friends in these activities, but sometimes I wonder what will happen when I get older,” Patterson said. “I hope everyone after this is just as nice.” Patterson is a big Spread the Word to End the Word advocator. She believes the R word should be changed to the word remember, because she always wants to remember her days at the school that leads. “Erin is the kind of person who simply lights up your day when you see her,” Tegan Harty ‘14 said. “She knows exactly what you need exactly when you need it.” The friendships that Patterson has made have helped her succeed in what she chooses to do. Friendship inspires her to work hard in school as well as her social life. Best Buddies changes buddies’ lives as well as peer buddies’ lives. “I was never sure how to interact with people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) until this year,” Harty said. “I was able to become a peer buddy this year, and Erin changed my life.” Patterson has changed more than just Harty’s perspective with her sunny disposition and cheerful outlook on life. She’s shown others that people with IDD are still people. “I don’t think someone being my friend should be any different that me being their friend,” Patterson said. People take advantage of opportunities given by Best Buddies, but the moral standards of associate buddies and peer buddies rise above the perks of the relationships. “At first, I found myself thinking about what a good person I am for signing up for this and what a benefit I am to this program, but our friendship turned into so much more,” Harty said. “Erin has taught me things that my other friends couldn’t have taught me.” Patterson and Tegan are a prime example of what the non-profit organization strives to accomplish in one-to-one relationships. Patterson hopes that more people will join Best Buddies to educate themselves about how to be a friend. “Best Buddies benefits people in a way that will stay with them forever,” Patterson said. “It’s a two way street. Everyone has a commitment to each other, but we’re all going the same way.” – ELENA FOSTER
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Happenings
Holiday Ideas Try these family favorites for your next holiday side dish collected by Dominic Balestrieri-Fox
String Beans with Ginger and Garlic Recipe Credit: Julia Moskin (Adapted recipe from The New York Times)
Soup with Little Meatballs Recipe Credit: Mary Balestrieri
Matzo Ball Soup Recipe Credit: Michael Urvater (Adapted Recipe from Food Network) d tlehawkfoo it /l m o c l. r u Check tiny recipes! ll for the fu November 13, 2013 LH FEATURE MAGAZINE
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Happenings
Holiday Ideas Try these family favorites for your next holiday side dish collected by Dominic Balestrieri-Fox
String Beans with Ginger and Garlic Recipe Credit: Julia Moskin (Adapted recipe from The New York Times)
Soup with Little Meatballs Recipe Credit: Mary Balestrieri
Potato Latkes Recipe Credit: Michael Urvater (Adapted Recipe from Food Network) food /littlehawk m o c l. r u y n Check ti recipes! for the full November 13, 2013 LH FEATURE MAGAZINE
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The perils of techonology in high school relationships by Payton Evans
Let’s Get Digital
Does it have to be “Facebook official” and publicly acknowledged in order to be considered officially dating?
A
couple sits at a small, secluded table in the school commons, working on homework and catching up on the latest Twitter drama. The chatter of voices around them fills the air, but their table is silent. Instead of engaging in typical small talk, the couple submerges themselves in their iPhones, ignoring one another’s presence completely. The growing field of technology is a common interest that teens often share. With social media networks such as Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram on the rise, technology is quickly taking over lives of many high school students. However, is the use of technology going so far as to control the aspects of teen relationships? “Technology can be overused when it takes out the cuteness and sincerity of someone talking to the person they like face to face,” Omnia Ali ‘15 said. “Your relationship shouldn’t be laying in the hands of technology unless you happen to be in a long distance relationship.” With new apps and social media networks appearing constantly, the idea of relationships taking
place by means of technology is becoming more and more prominent. With texting, Snapchatting, Skype, and more making staying in touch more convenient, the need for in-person contact seems to be diminishing. Apps focusing on video chat such as FaceTime or Skype allow face to face contact while being miles apart. To add to the social media craze, the ever growing smartphone fad puts this new technology right in the palm of your hand- literally. Ali and her boyfriend, Calvin Windschitl ‘14, have been dating for over a year and a half. Since both are avid athletes, Show Choir members, and active in other out of school activities, finding time to spend together can be difficult. Both of them agree that in these types of situations technology can be a great aspect of relationships. In fact, a type of social media network is where their story began. “Overall I think technology can be useful in a relationship and meeting new people,” Windschitl said. “The big reason we met was because we were playing each other in Words With Friends.” While technology hasn’t caused any problems in their relationship, they both agree that it can be an issue when overused. “When one or both of you are with friends you feel like you’re obligated to text each other,” Windschitl said. Keeping in constant contact with one another via means such as texting, direct messaging, and Snapchatting can make relationships seem smuggling to many teens. Technology can also make this constant communication appear to be intimidating and slightly overwhelming considering how previous generations have dealt with relationships. However, many students are also fond of the capability to regularly
keep in touch with one another. “I don’t think it changes the amount of time we spend together,” Windschitl said when asked about whether or not technology changes how often the couple hangs out. “Sometimes Omnia just zones me out when we’re together to check her Twitter and stuff.” Back in the days of writing letters and making phone calls, courtship had a whole different meaning. Writing letters and sneaking short phone calls behind their parents’ backs was the way
to go. Not having any means of advertising relationships via the internet made them more private and seclusive. These days, what characterizes a relationship? Does it have to be “Facebook official” and publicly acknowledged in order to be considered officially dating? “With technology being involved in relationships, everyone knows your business now,” Ali said. “Everyone wants to know your status and it almost seems a little more impersonal.”
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December 20, 2013
The 2013 word of the year is selfie. City High students share their opinions about selfies and social media. by Caroline Brown
Selfiegram
2013 likes
instalittlhawk Selfie is Oxford’s English Dictionary word of 2013. instalittlhawk Selfie (n.) A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. instalittlhawk Go to thelittlehawk.com to watch “The Year of the Little Hawk,” a video on what CHS students think of selfies.
uddled over a cell phone, students giggle, make fish faces, and post to the world a Selfie a million times over. So many times in fact, that Selfie was officially declared the word of 2013 by the Oxford English dictionary. Social media has taken the ‘Selfie’ to extremes. City High Junior Henry Craig is not so into the epidemic. “Duck face, peace signs, hashtag, friends, family, all of that. Every other day girls post a picture of themselves,” Henry Craig ‘15 said. Oxford English dictionary defines a selfie as: a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. Their definition even goes on to say that, “occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary.” “I got my instagram in 7th grade, but it was before anyone else had one,” Talia Rosazza ‘17 said. “I go on instagram more than anything. I’ve made a lot of friends through it.” Instagram has now reached 150 million users, though only about 30% of them have ever posted a photo. Other people use Instagram a little differently. “I don’t care what people think if I post a lot, I have like 600 or 700 photos, I like pictures. If they don’t like them they can unfollow me!” Rosazza said. Of all photos being posted, ‘selfies’ are the most popular genre of photos posted to instagram. The word ‘selfie’ is used 17,000% more frequently in the English language compared to this time last year according to oxforddictionaries.com “I post pictures about once a week,” Marisa Milavetz ‘17 said. “It has to mean something to me.” Since instagram started in October of 2010, students find that as more accounts are being created, there is a significant increase in activity on their own accounts. “At first I would get like 70-100 likes and then it just got higher. It was weird,” Milavetz said. The same thing started happening to Rosazza. “Over the summer I reached 1000 followers and I was really happy!” She said. “It just felt kind of cool.” A follower is gained when an instagram user follows your account, allowing photos from your account to appear in their newsfeed. “I follow a lot of people because I like looking at peoples pictures. I follow over a thousand people, they just follow back,” Rosazza said. Gaining likes and followers has become a cycle on social media, creating excitement and competition among users. The more new people you meet, the more new followers are received, and more likes are obtained, making instagram a huge success in social media. “Instagram is how I interact with people,” Rosazza said. “I wouldn’t be lost without it, but I definitely wouldn’t be normal. I never thought I would be this into something online.” With over 16 billion photos uploaded to the site, and an average of 55 million posted daily according to research by digital marketing manager Craig Smith, it can be hard to keep up. “When you don’t have it you feel out of the loop. People will be like, ‘Oh my gosh did you see this person’s photo?”’ Milavetz said.
Pressure to get likes and comments does have an impact on what is posted. After having her followers leave comments, Milavetz believes that the opinion of others does have an impact. “If someone says something about my picture being inappropriate I take down right away,” Milavetz said. “Or I’ll post a picture and be like, ‘Oh my gosh! I don’t like it anymore! Delete!’” Other instagram users are less alarmed by what their followers have to say, even when it is negative. “I’ve never taken something down because of something someone said or because a picture didnt get enough likes. I only do that if the picture is old and I just don’t like it anymore,” Rosazza said. Now with more than 8,500 likes a second, the use of instagram is skyrocketing. While having increased in its number of users and activity, some people feel it has gone down in it’s quality. “I think its gotten worse over time,” Craig said. “At first people would post pictures of something cool that they saw, but now its just, ‘Look at my makeup and my bra.”’ The selfie has significantly changed the content of instagram. Days of the week are dedicated to certain photos. Such as Man Candy Monday, Throwback Thursday, and of course, the infamous Selfie Sunday. “You don’t wanna check instagram on Sunday because it’s just a bunch of selfie Sundays!” Craig said. “When in reality you know these girls are probably sitting at home with no make up on, and it’s probably a picture from a week before, hashtag no filter!” So why post a selfie? Social media plays a big role in the lives of highschool students. The Oxford Dictionary website states that every month the average user spends 257 minutes surfing instagram. “I feel like everyone thinks that if you are popular you are doing something all the time,” Milavetz said. “But that’s not true! I have those days where I just sit at home and watch movies.” Rosazza agrees that popularity is not the reason to have an instagram. However, both girls find that there is a definite link between what is defined as popularity, and the ‘success’ of a person’s account. “I definitely think that social media makes you more popular,” Milavitz said. “You can stay in touch with old friends, if you meet people at camps you can keep up with them.” As technology has become a major form of communication for Americans, social media is a huge part of our lives. “Some social media makes your life positive, and other I think you could live without it,” Milavetz said. “You feel bad about yourself when people say negative things.” For better or for worse, the idea of having the best selfies, the most followers, and the craziest number of likes has become close to an addiction for many students. “Sometimes my mom will be talking to me in the car or something, and I’m just scrolling through my phone thinking “I’m not done yet!” Milavetz said. When online relationships are becoming more important than real ones, students reflect on what it really means to have ‘selfie’ as the word of the year. “Not a good word of the year in my opinion. It pertains to only high school girls who are on instagram all the time,” Craig said. “It’s not an actual word.” December 20, 2013 LH FEATURE MAGAZINE 11
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LH FEATURE MAGAZINE December 20, 2013
HOME BY LeAH HOeLSCHeR
ALON
For various reasons, City High students have decided to live seperately from their parents during their final year in high school.
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t’s 10:30 at night. The craving hits him in the stomach, halting his quiet studying. Opening the cupboard he grabs the frosted flakes and dumps them into the cleanest bowl on the counter. Peering into the fridge, it slowly sinks in. There’s no
milk. “That was the first time I realized I was all on my own. Nobody is going to get my milk, I have to get my own milk,” Christian Kennedy ‘14 said. Christian’s parents moved to Virginia while he made the momentous decision to live by himself in order to continue his education at City High and keep his job. At 17 years old, only a week before the 2013-2014 school year began Christian packed up all of his old art projects, school papers, and clothes and moved himself into an old, creaky house on the site of his riding school, Windsreach farm, 10 minutes away from City High. His parents help relieve the stress of having to pay $300 dollars a month out of his own pocket for rent by supplying him with a weekly budget for gas and food. His job teaching riding lessons on the side helps to cover extra expenses. “Although I love cooking, the biggest thing that annoys me is having to actually make the food. It’s no longer ‘wonder what’s for dinner,’ it’s ‘I have to make dinner,’” Christian said. In order to avoid the daily commute to school and a job at Brueggers’ Bagels from Coralville where her mom lives everyday, Lilly Reitz ‘14 also decided to move out of her mother’s house and moved into a downtown apartment with three former City High students, which her mom pays $250 for each month. “My mom pays for the apartment, and she gives me an extra $100 a month for food, but if I want anything extra I buy it,” Lilly said. Although he now enjoys having space to himself to study with no siblings making noise or worried parents hovering over his shoulder, at first it scared Christian to be on his own. “I was really worried that I would forget to do something necessary, like turn off the stove, so for me the first few weeks were just about staying alive,” he said. “But it’s not really as bad as I thought it would be.” Senior reporter for The Little Hawk, Schuyler Libe ‘14, also joins the statistic of students living separately from their parents. “Basically, when you live without a parent you become more independent, but you don’t have the security that you do living with a family. You have to pay for things yourself,” Schuyler said. After disagreements at home, he made the final decision to move out of his house. Schuyler transitioned from living with his mom and step brother, to living in his girlfriend’s female dominated house, with permission from her parents. “At first my friends gave me a lot of backlash, and
told me it was the wrong thing to do, but I didn’t really have a choice,” Schuyler said. “They’ve definitely become more accustomed to the idea.” Although some 17 year olds choose to live on their own during their last year in high school for varied reasons, the legal age for moving out in Iowa is 18 years old, unless parent/guardian consent is given. Watching popular teen movies, it is assumed that having no parents in the house means having a party every night. “I think at first people are like ‘so you live alone, when’s the party?’ but it’s like no, it’s not like that,” Christian said. According to Lilly and Christian, living away from your parents has been over-romanticized by movies, books and tv shows. “I was excited about all of the freedom, things like ‘I can stay up late,’ and ‘I can eat candy for breakfast,’ but in reality I go to bed at 9:30 and eat cinnamon toast crunch in the morning if I wake up on time. I thought it would be way cooler and exciting, but it’s really relaxed,” Lilly said. Christian talks of his first challenge with his new responsibilities of cooking edible food for himself, cleaning his own bathroom, and paying bills. “One of the first few days [I was living by myself], I accidentally found out that the top open washer doesn’t stop filling on it’s own. I started a load and laid down for a nap while it was going, and when I woke up to check on it I found the whole laundry room an inch deep in water,” he said. Lilly expressed having experienced similar first week mixups, and shares the details of her first night. “All that was there for a week was my bed on the floor, clothes in the closet, a few dishes and a couch. My roommates and I sat on the floor and ate ramen the first night,” Lilly said. Going from a loving family to an overflowing washer, and from home cooked meals to ramen noodles wouldn’t have been easy on any high school student. “The first day was actually kind of scary, the house is kind of old and I kept thinking I was hearing things, but it was probably my imagination. It was mostly a mixture of organizing stuff and just getting by. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t bad at all but at the time, being alone was the scariest thing ever,” Christian said. After having settled into his new routine with his job, school, and cooking for himself, he admits that he still has a problem with letting the dishes pile up. Christian’s advice to students adventurous enough to live separately from their parents is to get a crockpot. “The first week I lived alone, I totally thought it was going to be a massive party, but quickly realized that there’s no point,” he said. “I have real life responsibilities. My parents moved to Virginia, so there’s nobody around to save me, I just have to be a little bit smarter now.”
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Happenings
Fashion spotlight As the cold approaches, we all change our wardrobe. Here’s how three girls are winterizing their style photos and text by Micah Cabbage and Elena Foster
ELLIE BENSON Heads turn when Ellie Benson ‘14 walks down the halls in her unique and chic outfits. With the winter season in progress, her must-have items include layers, leggings, and scarves. Benson is known for dressing as an individual. While some girls pair Northfaces with Victoria’s Secret yoga pants, she wears three flannel shirts tucked into cut-off jeans over black tights and combat boots. Many girls feel intimidated to step outside of their comfort zone at risk of peers’ judgement. “I don’t follow trends because I believe fashion is a sense of self-expression,” Benson said. “It’s quirky, but it’s who I am.”
SABRINA RODGERS The concept of “dressing to impress” does not concern Sabrina Rodgers ‘14. She embraces the warmth and comfort of sweatpants. “Honestly, my sweatpants wardrobe has come from the lost and found, or they accumulate from my friends over the years,” Rodgers said. Normally she chooses to dress comfortably in her beloved sweatpants, but occasionally she wears jeans. “Mainly, I don’t care what other people think about the way that I look,” Rodgers said.
ELIZABETH SMITH Fashion is a family affair for Elizabeth Smith ‘14. Fueled by parents’ “hand-me-downs” and various thrift stores, Smith’s typical outfits consist of oversized sweaters, scarves, leggings, and combat boots. “I don’t like spending a lot of money on clothes,” she said. “I get a lot of my clothes at stores like Salvation Army and Goodwill because it’s less expensive.” While teenagers go to the store in baggy sweatshirts and moccasins, Smith will only be found in this attire in the privacy of her home.
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LH FEATURE MAGAZINE
LH MEDIA
Sign up now with your guidance counselor for Foundations of Journalism or Advanced Journalism CONTACT: Jonathan Rogers, Adviser rogers.jonathan@iowacityschools.org
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Sitting in a desk all hour never happens in Room 2109, you’ll be up and at ‘em. Students also attend IHSPA State Conferences and National Journalism confrences in exotic locales such as Boston and Seattle. On trips students meet with world famous writers and reporters and develop their media skills.
Want to earn a year of English credit? Journalism counts! Sign up with your guidance counselor for Foundations of Journalism, which is recommended. If you are an over-scheduled Honor’s student you can go ahead and sign up for Advanced Journalism (a.k.a. Newspaper).
The Little Hawk is one of the top journalism programs in the country. Winning major state and national awards, including the Pacemaker, Gallop and Best of Show awards. Staff also have the opportunity to win thousands of dollars in scholarships based on their work for The Little Hawk.
Whether recording Rock ‘n Roll music for a podcast, making coffee, decorating for various holidays, having contests or taking a break in the Journalism Lounge, 2109 is the BEST room at City High. Journalism students are by far the happiest, and there is never a dull day in Room 2109.
Journalism isn’t just for the great writer...but we want those students too. Writers, artists, designers, photographers, web-designers, videographers and marketing or buisness students all have a place on The Little Hawk Staff. Facebook and Twitter? You can do that too! All of these are real life skills that can land you a cool job.