The Little Hawk

The

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Iowan Recruitment Increases Iowa universities change recruitment tactics toward instate students as enrollment becomes more competitive.

By Wynne Miller Due to new laws regarding state funding, and the near completion of reconstruction from the flood of 2008, The University of Iowa is making a concerted effort to recruit more instate students to attend their school.

“As population demographics change, there are fewer 18 year olds in the Midwest, and every college is trying to recruit them,” Joe Brennan, Vice President of Strategic Communications at the University of Iowa, said.

The Board of Regents has proposed a new way of allocating state taxpayer dollars to the three public universities in Iowa for the first time in 70 years. As of 2016, 60 percent of state funding will be based on the enrollment of instate students.

“This model bases a large share of state funding on enrollment of Iowa residents,” Brennan said.

Projections from the Board of Regents indicate that, with the proposal, Iowa could lose about $13 million per year for the next few years.

“If that happens, we will find ways to reduce our spending without compromising the quality of our education,” Brennan said. “We are looking at several projects to help us become more efficient in our administrative processes.”

The new policy puts the University at risk of losing state funding, but changes the University is making are also there to maintain an ideal school environment.

“It’s more about sustaining the right enrollment for a healthy university and a great student experience,” Eric Page, Director of Recruitment and Communications at the Office of Admissions, said.

The University’s goal is to not only recruit Iowa residents to their school, but to have a well-rounded student population.

“We aren’t just changing the way we recruit Iowa residents,” Page said. “We are recruiting students who will be successful at the University of Iowa, and building a strong mix of resident and nonresident enrollment to secure a strong future for the University.”

Students at City High have also expressed an importance in student diversity.

“I like people who are diverse; people who are from different walks of life and backgrounds,” Miguel Garcia ‘15 said.

The University has full-time recruiters stationed in Chicago, California, and Texas. They’re also offering a new legacy scholarship, visiting every high school in the state, improving campus tours, and spending about $2 million this year on paid advertising.

“We identify prospective students early in their high school careers, and we reach out to them in multiple ways,” Brennan said. “Our recruiters visit high schools and attend college fairs throughout Iowa and around the Midwest.”

As the school considers what sort of students it look at, students also consider what they would like in a school.

“Affordability and the strength of the departments I’m interested in are the most important factors [in choosing a college],” Garcia said.

This year, during a U of I board meeting, the Board of Regents criticized the University’s efforts on recruiting students after the new proposal.

“The criticism from the Regents was really unfounded and unfair,” Page said. “It was based on hearsay and subjective observations that really weren’t accurate. So, we took them with a grain of salt.”

After the Board of Regents pushed the University to increase the student population, the school hosted an Open House, You@Uiowa, where about 500 faculty and staff members volunteered to greet students, give tours, and speak about their areas of interest.

“More than 3,000 prospective students and their families visited campus on a sunny, perfect Saturday in late October,” Brennan said.

The school is holding the events to improve and obtain a higher level of university environment.

“This whole episode this past year has helped us take a step back and evaluate how we go about our work, and look for areas to improve,” Page said. “I believe we have done that.”

Kirkwood Brings Regional Centers to Johnson County Unique college partnership expands educational opportunities for high school students in the ICCSD.

By Claire Noack & Olivia Parrott Opening in the fall of 2015, the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa will greatly expand opportunities for next year’s upperclassmen to experience the rigor of college in high school. While Kirkwood has offered classes in the professional development area to high school students for years, the new center will nearly double the number of courses available to City High students, and will provide better facilities.

“The biggest advantage is classes that are not traditionally offered in high schools,” Assistant Principal

Scott Jespersen said. “The centers expose you to careers you didn’t know about or weren’t interested in before.”

The Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa, a brand new facility, will be filled with advanced equipment for various professional development courses, such as Advanced Manufacturing, Automotive Technology, and Emergency Medical Services.

“It’s just beautiful,” City High guidance counselor Linda Hoel said. “We’ve seen the equipment at another center that they’re going to be putting in. The equipment is going to be in there for technology, and it’s going to be state-of-the-art.”

In addition, new classes will be added to the program of studies. A liberal arts academy, an architec-

ture, construction, and engineering academy, and a pharmacy technician academy will be among the new courses offered.

Kirkwood began building the regional centers when school districts approached the college with concerns about programs they were unable to offer students with their current facilities. Kirkwood built its first center in Jones County.

The Center received such a strong positive reaction, a bond issue was passed several years ago to expand Kirkwood Regional Centers into a greater number of counties.

In the years since the opening of the Jones County Center, Regional Centers have been built in Linn and Washington Counties. The Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of

Iowa will open next fall.

While several more academicbased classes have been offered this school year at TREK, a center stationed at the previous Roosevelt Elementary School, historically, Kirkwood has offered alternative classes for high school students in the area such as computer tech or other professional development courses. However, this year many classes simply could not be offered.

“Any of these other [classes]-the manufacturing, the auto for examplewe just aren’t offering this year because we don’t have the facilities,” Hoel said. “We’ve been very limited in what we can offer to students. The facilities at TREK are substandard.

It’s just not a good deal, but it’s the best we could do for this year.”

Students from the Iowa City Community School District, as well as from Regina, Tipton, West Branch, Clear Creek Amana, and Solon will have access to the new Center, which will be located in the University of Iowa Research Park in Coralville.

“It is a trek for students,” Jespersen said. “Mr. Bacon and I have been a little concerned about that, because we want students to be able to have full access.”

If a student doesn’t already have access to transportation, it will be provided to and from the Center by the school district via bus, which will leave City High at around 6:45 am. continued on A8

A2 PREVIEW

December 18 , 2014 The Little Hawk w ad Feature Magazine

Section A

NEWS: IOWA CITY SCORES A PERFECT 100 ON LGBT EQUALITY

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Addie Bass enjoys the limelight, indulging herself in the world of theater and expanding her comfort zone.

The Blue Zone project reaches City High in an attempt to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

OPINION: WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED...

AGAIN!

By Eleanor Mildenstein The Human Rights Campaign survey ranks Iowa City highly in terms of acceptance and equality.

By Nina Dang

By Riley Lewers & Maggie Morony

11

ON THE COVER: ATTENTION DEFICIT...

DISORDER?

By Ellis Fontana

By Anton Buri

Join Ellis in the fight to save Christmas.

Do not let Jack Frost prevail.

ADHD rates are rising immensely.

Could everyone who is diagnosed actually have the disorder?

A&E: SACRIFICE FOR SUCCESS

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Relive some of the best moments and photos of 2014 at The School That Leads.

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By Taylor Milefchik

Meet Anna Kaldjian, passionate violinist and four-year All-Stater.

easy

By Hazel Crew & Drew Orr

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A look at the upcoming boys’ and girls’ basketball seasons..

LH Feature

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distr

ADHD

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Section B

SPORTS: BASKETBALL

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, 2014

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BEST OF 2014

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tiveness inatten

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STUDENT PROFILE: LIFE ON STAGE

NEWS: THE RED ZONE GOES BLUE

FEAST

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OPPIN

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DRIFTING AWAY

SPORTS: THE LIFE AQUATIC

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WINTER

6

By Nova Meurice & Sarah Smith

By Dominic Balestrieri-Fox Lizzie Brown ‘15 and Karl Thomas ‘16 are top swimmers, and they worked hard to get there.

Students of four different faiths discuss the challenges of navigating religion in a less-religious nation.

From your editors...

By Anton Buri & “Payton Evans” Your faithful journalism elves have been hard at work in the little workshop known as 2109, wrapping our own little gift for our beloved readers: the third installment of The Little Hawk. As the hiatus known as winter break is finally upon us, we reach the halfway point of our publications.

We bestow upon you what we feel is the most visually pleasing issue of The Little Hawk yet. We put more energy and time

into the aesthetics of this issue, striving to give you an issue that is most easy on the eyes. Upon return from our trip to Washington D.C. for the annual National High School Publication Association Fall Convention in November, twenty-six Little Hawk staffers brought back a goodie sack filled with design tricks to try out in our own newslab. The privilege of traveling to D.C.provided us with the opportunity to share ideas and learn from high school journalists, advisors, and professionals from across the nation through a series of design workshops.

In D.C. Little Hawk staffers were lucky enough to get a tour of the Washington Post, where we were inspired by leading names in journalism today. We were led through the kingdom that is the Washington Post by Carol Leonnig, the woman who exposed the flaws of our nation’s Secret Service quite possibly resulted in the resignation of the Director of Secret Service. We were also lucky enough to sit in the presence of Bob Woodward, Water Gate reporter, and listen to the wise words that he had for us, the future of journalism. In the closing stages of the trip, we received a national rating of

fourth best-in-show for our October issue.

This achievement is a great one, but is an important reminder that there is, as legend Drake would say, “room for improvement”. We must keep our heads down and strive to achieve perfection. The unique opportunity of spending time in D.C. was an inspiring experience, and one that also provided a valuable platform for immense staff bonding.

So as our little family here in 2109 grows ever closer, we are striving to close the gap between us and you, our readers, our lovelies. In this issue we attempted to incorporate more interactive features for you to enjoy. We have crosswords, quizzes, and even a couple tic-tac-toe boards for you and your buddy to waste your time with as you wait for that final bell to send you away on your winter break adventures.

As we aim to incorporate more interactivity, we still struggle to meet the seemingly unattainable goal of meeting deadlines. In attempt to realize this goal, we implemented a Maestro system for this issue, a strategy designed to encourage the communication between writers, photographers, and designers. Our quest to master the art of thorough communica-

tion and OCD level organization continues still.

In this issue, we feature the arrival of the Blue Zones project to our school, and investigate the habits they encourage that could improve our own well-being.

We were quick on to the scene to cover passionate protesters marching their way through the downtown area in response to the events in Ferguson and New York.

We share with you the hobbies of some of City High’s very own -- an actress, a dancer, and a musician. Giving you insight to their lives and passions, and in doing so strengthening the wonderful community that we have here at The School That Leads.

So until next year everybody. Surely, we will return in the new year with a fiery attitude and a hunger to improve our prized newspaper and magazine. You know what they say: New year, new you.

NEWS

A3

December 18, 2014

U of I Requests Personal Twitter Handles on Scholarships

By Payton Evans

INFOGRAPHIC BY OLIVIA PARROTT

The Changing Solutions to Climate Change As the world continues to warm, the solution to climate change has become an international, private, and local issue.

By Joe Weideman & Eliana Hoffman For years climate scientists have known that the greenhouse gas effect is changing the world’s climate.

World climate change carries with it potential negative effects on the environment and life on earth. The rising sea levels, increased heat, and severe weather events that come with climate change create the possibility of a new, more dangerous world.

“When I read the extent of the increasing impact to the systems we rely on and communities we care about,” Frank Niepold, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Education Coordinator said, “I conclude that this issue is among, if not the most, important one we face together.”

Despite such risks, many people around the world still don’t believe that climate change is real or dangerous.

According to a Yale survey, one in every four Americans doesn’t believe climate change is caused by humans. Instead they believe it’s a natural phenomenon. Additionally, approximately 50 percent are worried about its effects on the future of the earth.

According to The Little Hawk’s recent poll, 72 percent of City High students ranked climate change as a four or five in terms of having a negative impact on earth, with five being the most, and one being the least.

“I realize that it’s an issue, but I don’t worry about it continuously,” Rasmus Schlutter ‘17 said. “Still, a healthy planet means better quality of life for everyone.”

Even Iowa could be affected by the climate issue.

“If the environment continues to decline in its condition, there will be negative consequences that our communities will have to face. With rising sea levels, this will displace large populations of people in the already densely populated world that we live in. Droughts and increasing temperatures will lead it to being increasingly more difficult for farmers to grow crops,” Lilly Brown ‘15 said. “A large portion of our economy is tied to agriculture.”

Those with allergies may have noticed the consistently high pollen counts over the last couple of years. Plants produce more pollen in higher temperatures, and the pollen is more potent once in the air because of the heat.

While the risks are high, there are many opportunities to fight the threat.

INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS

The international community has taken notice, and is attempting to respond. At the recent APEC conference, the U.S. and China came to a greenhouse gas emissions reduction agreement as an attempt to stall climate change.

Advocates of the agreement believe that it will force China and the U.S., the world’s two largest emitters, to decrease their emissions, and that it provides impetus for further agreements.

“The U.S.-China Climate Emissions deal is a step in the right direction, as China is one of the world’s largest polluters,” Brown said.

Critics and skeptics believe that the agreement lacks binding legal force,

and is simply empty rhetoric. Another point of contention is that China, one of the world’s biggest coal consumers, has not agreed to immediately curb emissions; only to capping them by 2030.

“Greater strides still need to take place,” Brown said.

RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS

Renewable energy is one of the primary means devised for stopping climate change.

“We need to encourage and help advance the use of alternative and renewable energy in order to become less reliant on oil and coal,” Brown said.

Oil and coal reduce emissions by providing non-fossil fuel electricity to power that would usually be charged with coal or natural gas.

“We need to address air pollution,” Brown said.

One big question is whether the technology can produce enough electricity to replace traditional sources. Technology, like wind and solar power, suffer from intermittence issues; they don’t work when without wind or consistent sun exposure.

That’s just one of renewable technologies’ problems. Google recently published a report saying that even in the best case scenario, renewable technology is too expensive for use in the degree necessary to stop climate change significantly.

Others say that the construction process of technologies, such as wind mills, still requires significant fossil fuel inputs. The plastics require natural gas in the production stage, and building the facilities requires electricity from nonrenewable sources.

But for many, the renewable outlook is hopeful.

“New work on renewable technologies is finding that we could make the choices about emissions the scientific community says needs to be made, and positively impact our nation’s economy,” Niepold said. “We could make 80 percent of our electricity from renewable technologies by between 2040 and 2050. That’s big.”

LOCAL SOLUTIONS

The fight to stop climate change and environmental degradation isn’t limited to international agreements and corporate technology. There are many student programs at the local and international levels.

Brown serves on the ICCSD’s sustainability advisory committee to make the district more environmentally friendly, as well as works with a group of students to influence policy at the state level.

“We’ve been working with Iowa legislators to address this issue. They’ve drafted a bill from our input,” Brown said. “The bill has passed the Iowa Senate, and is awaiting vote in the Iowa House. My seventh grade year I worked on a project that focused on retrofitting inefficient fluorescent lighting systems in local businesses for more efficient and newer models.”

It’s a matter that everyone can engage in.

“People need to be more conscientious of the excess they live in by trying to reduce their own family’s waste, and by encouraging others to do the same,” Schlutter said.

In the past year, the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communications has kept up with changing technology by requesting new information on some of their scholarship applications: students’ personal Twitter handle.

“We need to find how best to communicate with the younger generations,” Administrator of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa, Rebecca Kick, said. “Traditional methods such as mail, and even email, are not effective anymore.”

These scholarships are awarded to students at the Fourth Estate Banquet held each spring, at which 60 scholarships equaling over $200,000 are awarded.

“I don’t think it’s fair if colleges start looking at Twitter as an admission factor,” Logan Lafauce ‘15 said.

“I don’t think Twitter reflects who you are as a person.”

According to Kick, the request for students’ personal Twitter handle is an effort to keep students engaged with the school. While not required, students are encouraged to provide the information in order to receive more information about the scholarship application period and other school news.

“Having a Twitter account will in no way be involved in the deciding factor,” Kick assured. “It is for informational purposes only.”

This generation is experiencing a communication revolution never before seen in previous generations.

Methods of communication are evolving, making it more difficult to reach prospective and current students. Potential employers also have access to more personal information than ever, including opinions voiced or photos posted on these sites.

“I think more and more employers, businesses, and schools are probably checking on things because it’s out there, it’s public,” City High assistant principal Emily Dvorak said. “There’s a lot of information out there about you, depending on what you post.”

With the the use of social media increasing exponentially, it is possible to see more colleges asking for social media accounts, either as a way of communication or as a potential admission factor.

“Some people are stupid enough to post irresponsible things on Twitter,” Griffin Schrader ‘15 said. “I’m sure that’s what colleges will start looking at, and no one wants to get caught with that.”

iJag Program Incorporates underclassmen

By Maddy Denninger City High’s Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates program, or iJag, has recently expanded to include ninth and tenth grade students, along with eleventh and twelfth grade students. “iJag is a jobs and graduation program, so our goal is to help students graduate from high school on time with the best grades possible, and with life, job, and leadership survival skills to have the most positive path when they graduate,” Sarah Richardson, iJag specialist at City High, said.

The program aims to give students the skills to be successful, both in the classroom and after gradua-

tion. Students in iJag who have chosen a career path are given a mentor to meet with once a month. Students also learn skills such as budgeting, how to fill out an application, and time management. “iJag is a national program, and it’s administered at the state level.

There’s a model called the iJag model, and the ideal model says that there should be a ninth through twelfth program at the high school,” Richardson said. “People in Des Moines, who are the head people for the state, decided that with the success of the eleven-twelve program it would substantially improve the program by adding a nine-ten program. If a student enters in ninth grade, we

like that student to stay all the way through twelfth grade.”

In November, two City High iJag students, Niya Smith ’15 and Naomi Chablet ‘15, traveled to Washington D.C. where they met with state legislators, attended a conference which featured iJag students from across the country, and visited monuments. The two were among just four students of the 1,700 in Iowa eligible to apply who were selected to go on the trip.

Smith and Chablet wrote essays about what iJag has done for them, and then presented a presentation to a panel of judges before being awarded the opportunity.

“There were lots of opportunities for professional development, career

connection, and connections to the history of the United States, and also the struggles that different types of people have had to overcome to achieve, just the way iJag kids have had to overcome,” Richardson said.

Smith, the secretary treasurer of iJag, joined the program last year.

She plans to attend college to become a social worker after high school. “iJag has helped me further my education and career goals,” Smith said.

After graduating, iJag students remain in contact with the program for one year to stay on track. Last year, 19 of 20 seniors involved with iJag graduated.

INFOGRAPHIC BY MADDY DENNINGER

A4

NEWS December 18, 2014

ICCSD Equity Policy Non-Compliant

By Wynne Miller Recently, the USDA notified the Department of Education that the district’s plan to use free and reduced lunch data to redistrict students is noncompliant with Iowa law.

“The data was going to be used to help balance the diversity during redistricting,” Steve Murley, the district’s superintendent, said.

In an e-mail to the Superintendent, Jeff Berger, the Deputy Director at the Iowa Department of education, describes the situation.

“The Iowa Department of Education determined that this local use of free and reduced price eligibility data was not permissive under federal statute,” Berger said.

The newly uncovered information has required the board to plan an entirely new redistricting method.

“Using the free and reduced lunch data was going to assist the district in creating the best statistics to provide the most efficient and diverse populations in all of our schools,” Murley said.

The USDA is prohibiting the use of lunch numbers out of concern for the potential use of the information for malicious activity, and for accessing other information.

“I thought we had found a way to use the numbers so there would be no other information involved,” Murley said. “Although I definitely understand their concern.”

The board suggested the use of property value or census information to replace the lunch numbers.

“The problems with the other suggestions would be that census information is about five years old, and property value doesn’t necessarily reflect the actual rent a person pays,” Murley said.

“Therefore, neither provide information that is as accurate as we want.”

The district could lose federal lunch program dollars if it does not adjust the policy, along with other consequences. The ICCSD will discuss a new policy during its next board meeting.

“We are going to come together and revisit the policy to make it compliant,” Murley said. “I feel as though we tried our best to create a way to successfully represent the students for redistricting, but I understand everyone’s concerns.”

Ask An Ambassador

ABOVE: Protesters lead chants at the Iowa City Police Department on November 25. BOTTOM LEFT: Iowa City residents congregate at the steps of the Old Capitol.

BOTTOM RIGHT: A woman stands in solidarity with Ferguson protesters. PHOTOS BY CORA BERN-KLUG

Ferguson Sparks Solidarity Protests in Iowa City AU MI GUS SH CHA T 9,2 DA OT B EL BR 014 RR Y P OW EN OL WI ICE N FA LSO O TA N FFIC LLY ER

JUL ERI Y 17, TO C GA 2014 OF DEA RNE PAN FICE TH BY R CH TAL R DA PO OK EO NIE LIC ED E L

Sometimes I take City High for granted. I have the incredible privilege of going to a diverse, academically solid public high school.

One of City’s strongest aspects is the sheer breadth of top-notch extracurricular activities. It’s overwhelming. It creates the unanticipated problem of not knowing what to do with yourself. Well, children, I’m here to share some wisdom on how to make the most out of your extracurricular experience here.

If you absorb one piece of advice from this column, let it be this: don’t EVER join an extracurricular just so you can put it on your college applications. Admissions officers see right through this and it’s honestly disrespectful to others who are dedicated. Instead, pick activities that you are interested in. If you participate in extracurriculars that you enjoy, you will get the most out of them.

It’s also very important to find a balance. You want to do Debate, Show Choir, Newspaper, Jazz Band, and Basketball? They are all fantastic activities, but you will never sleep. These extracurriculars have multiple practices or rehearsals a week, frequent competitions, and some even have required classes that you must take every day. Being involved and staying busy is important, but staying healthy physically and mentally is far more important. Try finding activities with a smaller time commitment to balance out the big ones.

Finally, a cliché but important idea: try new things. Taste test a few clubs. Talk to long-time members of activities that require bigger commitments and consider joining next year. I started all of my activities (Band, Math Club, City High Review, and Ambassadors) with no experience and almost no expectations. Now I am a senior with passion and leadership in all of them. As you get older, it gets harder and more expensive to pick up new activities. Try a few out in high school, you may end up learning about where you want to take your life. I know I did. - X

FEB TRA RUA FAT YVO RY 2 6 AN ALLY N M , 20 DR SH AR 12 EW OT TIN ZIM BY ME RM AN

By Xavier Fields

New Lockers Move in Over Winter Break

By Anton Buri First floor locker occupants are packing up their materials and clearing their lockers as City High prepares to receive its own sort of holiday gift. Over winter break, first floor lockers are set to undergo their first ever renovation.

“I wanted a locker that City High alumni, and City High students and families would walk past and be proud of,” Scott Jespersen, Assistant Principal and the coordinator of the project, said.

All first floor lockers, with the exception of those in the C wing (the hallway above the cafeteria) and those in the Language Arts hallway, are set to be replaced —and with a little extra flare too.

“I had the opportunity to put something on the lockers: the new ones will have a Little Hawk, put on by a plasma cutter, and they’ll have a red plate on the back,” Jespersen said.

The crown, or strip of color lining the crease between the wall and ceiling in the main hallway, is also in the process of being repainted.

The current burgundy color is being replaced by a red that better matches the school colors.

The reason behind the change in the lockers is not solely cosmetic.

“The fact is, there are no longer any of the parts available for the lockers that we have in the building. So if a locker that we have now breaks, the mechanisms inside can no longer be fixed or replaced,” Jespersen said.

The parts harvested from the old first floor lockers will be used to prolong the life of those on the second and third floor. As for further down the road, second and third floor lockers may be replaced and changed as well.

“It’s really up to the district. They have said that we can move forward with replacing those, and that could mean this summer,” Jespersen said. “There’s some suggestions out there that maybe next we go to a half-size locker [on the second and third floor], so we can try to go to a one-to-one ratio on lockers.”

Outdated parts, along with City High’s increasing enrollment are the motivation for the new action.

“We’re going to end up gaining quite a few lockers. We’ll see a number of new lock-

ers in the math wing,” Jespersen said.

Some students are frustrated with the midyear renovation, but look forward to the outcome.

“It is a hassle to have to move all my stuff out of my locker, just because I have a lot of stuff in there; it’ll be like the last day of school all over again,” Dacey Messinger ‘15 said. “I’m really excited for them to be bigger,though.”

The current lockers have been in place since the construction of the building in 1937. Jespersen kept this in mind as he made plans for the new lockers.

“Whenever you’re making a significant change to a historical landmark, you want to be very sensitive to the changes that you’re making,” he said.

As for the future of these new lockers?

“I was told I’d better be careful with picking out what [lockers] I put in, because they are going to be there a really long time!” Jespersen said. “I imagine if the lockers we have now have been here for 70 some years, we’re going to have them for quite some time.”

A5

NEWS December 18, 2014

You Have the Right to...

‘Teach in’ dinner educates Iowa City on human rights.

By Wynne Miller

ABOVE: Members of the orchestra, band, and choir fill the floor of Hilton Coliseum for the 68th annual Iowa All-State Festival concert. BOTTOM LEFT: City students of the All-State Orchestra, and City Orchestra conductor Megan Stucky BOTTOM RIGHT: Three of the five students accepted to the All-State Chorus PHOTOS BY CLAIRE GOODFELLOW

City High Students Participate in Iowa All-State Music Festival

By Clarie Goodfellow Over 1,000 student musicians filled the Hilton Coliseum in Ames to participate in the 68th annual Iowa All-State Music Festival.

In October, students from all over the state auditioned to be accepted into the orchestra, band, or choir. This year’s festival featured 12 members from the City High orchestra, an unusually high acceptance in comparison to the nine members from band, and five members from choir.

“Eventually, each area must reach a rebuilding year, and the numbers can sometimes reflect those growing pains,” City Orchestra conductor, Megan Stucky, said. “This was a good year for orchestra, but no one can predict what will happen next year.”

Senior Maria McCoy, a three-year participant in the festival, says that the high number shows that orchestra is doing good things, and that this looks good for the orchestra program as a whole.

“The audition part sucks, and it’s a lot of work,” McCoy said. “But it’s all worth it.”

Ryan Dailey ‘15 describes how he started preparing at the beginning of the summer, and how it was difficult to stay motivated. It was a long haul to get through to the very end; he started losing motivation as the audition got

closer and closer.

“I remained vigilant to that day, and I’m glad I did. Otherwise, I might not have the chance to tell people that I’m an Iowa AllStater,” said Dailey. “The word ‘intense’ does not even begin to do it justice.”

Stucky explains that this year, a greater number of students auditioned from the orchestra, and University of Iowa music professors were also brought in to help prepare students for the auditions in October. Students used open periods and countless hours preparing, as well as attended university workshops at various colleges.

“One might think after practicing something for three months the material would be mastered, and should be really easy to play,” Dailey explains. “That is simply not the case with All-State.”

Each year, Stucky and the other music educators encouraged more and more students to try the audition process, because of its involvement in a high level of education, and becuase of the selfdiscipline and motivation needed to gain the skills necessary for such an audition.

“It’s tough because you have other things going on, and you have to prioritize,” McCoy said. “I don’t think people realize that we start working on stuff during the summer.”

Along with the honor of being accepted, there is disappointment for those not accepted.

Only about 17 percent of those who auditioned achieved the honor.

“As an educator, it is so difficult to witness the amount of hard work and dedication which goes into the All-State process,” Stucky said.

“Then to console the students who were not selected can be heart wrenching.”

According to Stucky, each year there are surprises, disappointments, excitement, and pride, but knowing how to handle all of those emotions with character and poise is the beauty of the process. She is always pleased to see the students supporting each other, and holding their heads high regardless of the outcome.

Stucky says that watching all the City High Orchestra students work so hard in rehearsals after hours of grueling practices, sore muscles, and fatigue was a proud teacher moment for her.

“Nothing beats the smiles from students at the conclusion of the All-State Concert,” Stucky said.

For Dailey, All-State was also a sentimental experience.

“I’m thankful for all of my teachers and mentors who have helped me get to this point.

I truly could not have come even close without them,” Dailey said. “In addition, I’m grateful to be able to develop my musical ability at an exceptional school like City High.”

Iowa City Scores 100 on LGBT Equality

By Eleanor Mildenstien Across the country, an estimated five to 10 percent of teens identify as a member of the LGBT community. For many, bullying can be a problem faced almost daily. However, Iowa City’s perfect score on the 2014 Municipal Equality Index shows that the situation may be improving for LGBT students in the city.

On November 12, 353 US cities received a score based on their acceptance of the LGBT community. Thirty-eight cities got a perfect score of 100, including Iowa City. This was the only perfect score in the state of Iowa, out of the five cities surveyed.

McKinley BarbouRoske ‘16 agrees with the ranking.

“I have felt very comfortable, and so have my parents here, and that’s actually why my moms decided to move back here when I was three,” she said.

BarbouRoske, who is bisexual and has lesbian moms, says that bullying has rarely occurred, and that when it does, it’s tolerable.

“I have had some instances where a little bit of bullying occurred. They’re very rare, though,” BarbouRoske said. “I’d say 87 percent of the time it’s a very safe place, but I’d say 13 percent of the time there are very rare occurrences.”

One of her moms, Jen BarbouRoske, a City High nurse, agrees with McKinley.

“Iowa City has always been fantastic,” she said. “I always thought it was partially because of the University being here, but it’s a very liberal community, and we’ve lived here for many years,” she said. “We’ve never had a problem.”

“EVERY PERSON NEEDS A PLACE TO FEEL SAFE AND CARED AND REPRESENTED.” -JEN BARBOUROSKE J. BarbouRoske believes the same is true of City High.

“Even among the staff, I have not had any discrimination from anyone at City High,” J. BarbouRoske said.

J. BarbouRoske and her wife were involved in the court case to legalize gay marriage in the state of Iowa, Varnum v. Brien. Banning the marriage of same-sex couples was found to violate the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution in 2009.

Although most people agree with the ranking, there is still room for improvement. Senior

Kyla Paterson, a transgender student, says that although Iowa City has progressed in LGBT rights, overall acceptance is not as exemplary.

“Women’s rights aren’t even fully accepted in Iowa City, which is just kind of sad, considering we’re going for LGBT rights, and not going for everybody’s,” she said.

Other ways were listed in how City High could improve, including more LGBT curriculum, such as LGBT history in history courses and LGBT reading in English, with special attention on understanding differences.

J. BarbouRoske emphasized the importance of safe places for all students.

“Every person needs a place to feel safe and cared and represented,” she said.

Safe places for LGBT students, named by those students who identify with the LGBT coommunity, include UAY, Iowa City Public Library, the Emma Goldman’s Women’s Health Clinic, University of Iowa, West High, Iowa City public pool, and any teacher who has a “Safe Zone” sign above their door.

Even though Iowa City is one of the most accepting cities in America, students should remember that bullying can still be a problem.

However, this problem has many solutions.

“Just don’t let other people get bullied, unless you want to be bullied, because it’s wrong,” Paterson said. “Just try and be aware, and we can make our school a lot better.”

Many people are fairly familiar with the term “Human Rights”. The idea is comprised of two fairly simple words, but the concept, in and of itself, is much more complex and fluid. “[human rights] means a lot to me,” Esme Rummelhart ‘17 said. “It means that everyone has a set of basic human rights that people shouldn’t be able to violate.”

December 10 marked the 66th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This is the most widely translated document in the world. United Nations established this document in 1948 to guarantee the rights of all the people.

“What it doesn’t say is where these rights come from. It’s left up to the reader to decide what human rights really are,” Cora MetrickChen, Associate Director of the Iowa United Nations Association, said.

During Human Rights Day, the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, Iowa United Nations Association, and Veterans for Peace held a “teach-in” on human rights education.

“Human rights are essentially voluntary,” Metrick-Chen said. “This can only happen if people who care make it happen.”

The declaration was established after World War II in an effort to avoid the calamity and catastrophe that had occurred.

“The atrocities of World War II opened peoples’ eyes to the fact that we can be really mean to each other- and that’s just putting it mildly - which scared a lot of people,” Andrea Cohen, University of Iowa College of Education PhD candidate, and Iowa City Human Rights Commissioner, said.

Human Rights organizations in Iowa City have been working to help educate people on human rights.

“We need to let people know what their rights are,” Amy L. Weismann, J.D. Assistant Director for the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, said. “[We need to] get them to talk about the significance of the rights ,and how to act on them.”

The Universal Document of Human Rights has 30 articles establishing the rights of any human being. It’s the government’s responsibility to enforce human rights, and intervene when they’re being violated. Many people don’t even know the document exists, let alone have seen these rights.

“Human Rights is a subject that is very vague, and nobody really knows what they are talking about,” Ricardo Corrales ‘17 said.

“Because honestly in school we don’t get very much education in that department, and everybody should understand what they are.”

Educating people on Human Rights has become a large goal for many people in the community, for many reasons.

“If you know what human rights are and expect them for yourself, you now they’re universal, and that it’s your duty to make sure everyone has them with you,” Cohen said. “The difficulty for Human Rights education begins with the different ways people see the definition and technicalities of it.”

“The rights are not just a legal document; they’re the way in which we humanly understand each other,” an attendee of the human rights “teach-in” said.

Others see the document on a more largescale, legalistic level.

“When you hear ‘human right’ in common language, it invokes a sort of moral response in people that might not correspond to how human rights actually function in the world,” Metrick-Chen said. “As soon as you call something a human rights violator, you’re saying the entire international community has the obligation to come in and intervene.”

Despite the different definitions, many people want to simply intensify the spirit of human rights through education and innovation.

“The goal is to hopefully come back next year with some real progress, and have achievements to celebrate,” Weismann said. “It’s the work of educators in the community to let people know about rights, how to act on them, and to protect everyones’ human rights.”

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NEWS December 18, 2014

10 Gifts Under $10 The underrated gift of the century: gift cards!

Where can you buy these?

ANYWHERE!

Movies! From Mean Girls to Top Gun, and more Where can you buy these?

Target, Hy-Vee

Coffee: Walmart has cool holiday packs, or there’s always Starbucks!

Where can you buy these?

Walmart, Starbucks

Lotion, Perfume, Body Wash packs Where can you buy these?

Bath & Body Works CVS, Walgreens

Books...the best form of entertainment!

Where can you buy these?

Barnes & Noble, Prairie Lights, Target...anywhere!

Jewelry..this will be cheap (FYI) Where can you buy these?

Claire’s, Silver Spider, Target

Something homemade!

Whip up a batch of cookies or a painting...something cute or yummy!

Where can you buy these?

Supplies at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby Destination Gifts Where can you buy these?

Coral Ridge Ice arena, Colonial Lanes, Sycamore theater

Across

2. where Santa lives 5. ...mac5 from Hy-Vee 10. what you leave out for Santa to eat 11. hang these decorated bulbs on your Christmas Tree 13. a Jewish holiday in December 15. put this plant up in your house and decorate it 17. fa.....

19. pulled by reindeer 20. the break we’ve all been counting down to 23. hang these “socks” and wait for little gifts to be put in them 26. not a creature was stirring not even a...

27. frozen rain in flake form 28. what Jewish people spin 29. light a candle everyday for eight days on this object 31. he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake 32. kiss me underneath the...

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

6.

Santa’s spouse the government agency that tracks Santa the best newspaper in the country these little creatures make gifts at the North Pole what Santa shimees down to deliver gifts 7. a green monster who now has a heart 8. the red-nosed reindeer 9. the fourth century bishop of Asia Minor 10. Little Hawk colored striped candy 12. the holiday celebrated by Christians around the world 14. the man, the legend also known as “Shrew” 16. the bird in the pear tree 18. what Santa Claus or Hanukkah Harry brings to good kids 21. the animals thata pull Santa’s sleigh 22. the president of TSTL 23. men made out of snow 24. light these while singing Silent Night 25. the fellow of Fellows 30. deck the halls with boughs of...

bring this completed crossword to room 2109 for a special holiday prize! only the top 5 win!

FOOD! Candy, chips, munchies— good stuff!

Where can you buy these?

Grocery Stores

Mechanical Pencils...what student doesn’t love pencils!

Where can you buy these?

Staples, Target, Walmart

The

Review

Iowa City High’s Literary Magazine

Enter your poetry, essays, photographs and drawing at cityhighreview@gmail.com

NEWS December 18, 2014

Best of

2014

A look back at the best moments of 2014 from The Little Hawk.

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TOP 10

lh instagram posts of 2014 Follow @instalittlehawk

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NEWS December 18, 2014

* Regional Center from A1

Interact Blood Drive Sees Success at City

By Riley Lewers Interact Club held its semiannual blood drive in the commons on Thursday, December 4. Students were eager to donate; 44 people registered and 33 units of blood were collected. ‘[I donated] because I never have before, and I thought it’d be cool,” Quang Pham ‘16 said. “And it’s a good cause.”

City High hosted its first blood drive in 1997. Before the 2012-2013 school year, the drive was school-sponsored. Since Interact took ownership of the drive, there has been an increase in donors and units of blood collected.

“I think students are willing to donate, but it depends on how the drive is promoted, if students have free periods, or if they are able to donate during class time,” Blood Drive Coordi-

TOP: Tom Braverman gives blood. BOTTOM: Emma McNutt ‘16 has her blood pressure measured during Interact’s December 4 blood drive. PHOTOS

BY B.J. SULLIVAN

nator Heather Roman said.

The drive was publicized by posters, and by Interact, which staffed a sign up table at lunch to heighten student interest.

Autumn Moen ‘16 was motivated to donate, because she has seen her dad contribute.

“Overall it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be. You always hear stories of people being like, ‘the finger prick hurt so bad!’ or, ‘I almost passed out!’” Moen said. “But it wasn’t that painful, and I’m not squeamish when it comes to needles and blood, so I felt fine.”

Students who donated blood received food, a free water bottle, and the opportunity to enter their name for a chance to win one of four $250 scholarships.

“It’s really rewarding knowing that my blood could save someone’s life,” Moen said.

#ThankYouIowaCity Campaign Encourages Wellbeing of Iowa City

By Lydia Kaufmann & Sofie Lie Citizens of Iowa City have been given a new incentive to promote a clean and safe downtown, due to the #thankyouiowacity campaign.

The campaign was launched a few weeks ago, and is assisted by local businesses. “[#thankyouiowacity] is a campaign backed by the Iowa City Downtown District to promote a clean and safe downtown,” Police Officer David Schwindt said. “While at the same time providing officers with the ability to have that positive, proactive interaction with the public that we otherwise don’t have, by simply handing out cards.”

The campaign is a collaboration between the Downtown District and the Iowa City Police Department. Cards designed by Sculpt, a social media agency, are given out to people downtown stepping up to do good. The card is designed to reward the progress of forming a clean and safe downtown.

“We’re only a couple weeks in, but I’ve had very positive reactions so far with giving out the cards,” Schwindt said.

Prior to #thankyouiowacity was the campaign “You’ve Been Caught”. You’ve Been Caught had a similar idea; promoting a safe city. #thankyouiowacity was provoked by this previous campaign’s success, as well as by the actions of a homeless man downtown who

inspired thoughts of generating a new version of the campaign.

“There was this one particular homeless man who would tear up trash and leave it all over to ‘feed the birds’,” Schwindt said. “After awhile of this, I went downtown one day when he was sweeping. I decided I would do him a

rather than concerning them with only the negative situations police officers generally are called in to deal with.

“While we’re driving around, we see positive things all the time, but we aren’t tasked with dealing with positive situations,” Schwindt said.

“As officers, we can have that proactive positive, interaction with the public, rather than negative [interaction].”

The #thankyouiowacity card is a little bigger than a business card, with the hashtag and logo on the front, and a list of businesses where it can be redeemed on the back.

“Downtown businesses support it because they’re the ones benefitting from a clean and safe downtown,” Schwindt said. “Every business I approached said, “yes’.”

Businesses like Java House, Yotopia, Molly’s Cupcakes, Iowa Book, and Iowa Parking and Iowa City Transit are donating gifts to the recipient of the #thankyouiowacity card for their work on improving downtown. Free drinks and freshly baked cupcakes await citizens doing things as simple as following traffic lights or picking up trash. “[#thankyouiowacity] is a new project, but I’m hopeful in it’s outcome,” Schwindt said.

With the campaign just off the ground, along with the positive reactions from the seven cards handed out so far, the #thankyouiowacity campaign seems to already have a bright, and clean, future.

“WHILE WE’RE DRIVING AROUND, WE SEE POSITIVE THINGS ALL THE TIME, BUT WE AREN’T TASKED WITH DEALING WITH POSITIVE SITUATIONS. AS OFFICERS, WE CAN HAVE THAT PROACTIVE, POSITIVE INTERACTION WITH THE PUBLIC, RATHER THAN NEGATIVE [INTERACTION].”

-DAVID SCHWINDT favor. He specifically asked for raspberry frozen yogurt.”

Schwindt’s inspiration from the man’s incentive to keep downtown clean, and the influence of the previous You’ve Been Caught campaign, led him to conceptualize the idea of #thankyouiowacity. #thankyouiowacity gives police officers an opportunity to reward people for doing good,

“We were thinking that transportation might be a limiting factor for kids, and that they’d have to rely on a shuttle system of some kind,” Hoel said. “It’s a little bit of an inconvenience, because it’s about 20-25 minutes there.”

However, the drive is worth it to some students, including Andrew Parr ‘16, who hopes to participate in the Pharmacy Technician Academy.

“This class will not only give me insight into the field, but it will also give me a head start if I choose to enter that field,” Parr said.

“Because I will have the requirements fulfilled that will allow me to immediately start working as a Pharmacy Technician.”

Two time periods have been made available to students for classes at the Regional Center. The times have been tentatively set at 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Noting that time is of the essence, the Centers offer companion courses. These classes allow a student to take an extra course if they are left with time after their other classes are dismissed, taking full advantage of the time students spend at the Center.

There are existing alternatives to taking a class out at the Regional Center. AP courses are currently offered at City High. However, the classes require a student to pass a test at the end of the year in order to gain probable college credit. Some colleges don’t accept AP credit, but the Kirkwood credit is guaranteed.

“It is a good way to start your college education without paying the tuition for it.

Plus you’re getting your college credits and your high school credits, Hoel said. “With this, it’s an automatic college credit. You are earning college credit, and there’s no test to determine whether you got it or not.”

Students could also earn credit at the University of Iowa, thanks to the partnership between the U of I and Kirkwood.

“The University of Iowa is looking for more opportunities to do more with the community, to expand more-to talking with actual high school students,” Jon Weih, Director of the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa, said. “We’re starting to use the University of Iowa’s connection with high-tech and advanced areas with our career academies.”

With the availability of courses at the Regional Center, City High students have the opportunity to graduate high school with up to a full semester of college credit. In addition, many general education, or GenEd, requirements can be fulfilled through the Regional Center.

Although Weih advocates for the college experience the Kirkwood classes provide students, he also recognizes the challenges high school students face when choosing an educational path.

“I think students who take career academies have really got to be on the stick. They’ve got to learn to plan out their calendar, and learn to manage their schedule so they’re able to manage their homework in high school, getting their college work done, and they’re still taking advantage of extracurriculars,” Weih said. “If you don’t make adjustments, it’s probably going to be a struggle for you, especially when you’re taking college credit classes,” Weih said. “Then when you get out of high school and you take your first college semester, you’ve already made that adjustment mentally.”

Parr believes that students foresee these challenges, and shy away from the unfamiliar college-level classes.

“I think that sometimes people may not want to take college courses during high school because they’re afraid to try something so new and different before they’re ready for it,” Parr said. “But now that they have the choice to [take classes] through their own high school, they will be much more inclined to try it, and become a more well-rounded student and experienced citizen.”

NEWS December 18, 2014

LHONLINE

W W W . T H E L I T T L E H A W K . C O M

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NEWS December 18, 2014

The Red Zon Blue Zones Project Reaches City High

With hopes of getting more students and young people involved in the community wellbeing initiative, Blue Zones brings their community-wide pledge drive to City High.

pledge, which 20 percent of citizens must take in order for Iowa around them was.”

City to become certified.

Despite this, the Blue Zones Project is still making an effort.

Greene emphasizes the low pressure nature of the pledge.

They paired with Interact to put on a volleyball tournament at “When you hear you have to take a pledge it makes it sound City High, and made taking the pledge a requirement for parIn the first step toward bringing the Blue Zones Project to like it’s this big thing that you’re signing up to do, and that ticipation. They are also doing pledge drives at West High and City High, students pledged to eat healthier, get active, and get you’ve got to stick to this contract,” she said. “It’s really kind of Tate. Sullivan views this interaction with Blue Zones as positive involved in their community. The pledge drive, which took place a pledge just with yourself to kind of check in and say, ‘what am interaction with City High. on November 13, was the first step in capturing students’ attenI already doing well?’ and, ‘what would be something new I’m “I hope to accomplish a better understanding of what Blue tion for the community wellbeing initiative. willing to try?’”

Zones is,” he said. “I know it’s going to be a good idea for City “Usually you hear the message of, ‘you need to exercise Many believe that this project will be a great success in the High and West High to do this, as well as Iowa City [as a whole]. more,’ and, ‘you should eat better,’ and we do,” Shannon Greene, Iowa City community, and Borger-Germann is has high hopes It’s a good step,” Sullivan said.

Community Program Manager for Blue Zones Project, said. in the success of the project.

While Borger-Germann believes in the nature of the project, “We have an individual responsibility for our own health, but “I think that it could be a huge deal for our community,” she she isn’t as optimistic about its impact on the City High commuwith the Blue Zones Project it’s about said. “One of the things I really like nity. what changes you can make to the about it is the press for more walkabil“I don’t know that Blue Zones is a big deal for our school, but environment that are going to make ity, which I think we need, particularly I think that it could be a huge deal for our community,” Borger“IT’S ANYTHING THAT’S those little decisions you make every as our city gets so much better.”

Germann said. day easier.”

BJ Sullivan ‘15 agrees.

Young people have taken initiative in the project by taking GOING TO HELP YOU FEEL In order to figure out what changes “Iowa City people are pretty open cooking classes and joining walking clubs.

BETTER AND LIVE LONGER.. are needed to develop a healthier comto this kind of stuff,” Sullivan said. “I The feedback Blue Zones has gotten from young people munity, the project found places around definitely think that it’s a good idea for indicates that they are most interested in the social connectedNOT JUST LIVE LONGER SO the world where people live longer, them to try [the Blue Zones Project] ness piece of the project. This interest could be significant, as healthier lives. These places are known here.”

Greene believes getting young people excited about Blue Zones YOU CAN SI T AROUND I N A as the “Original Blue Zones Areas”.

Borger-Germann, has been filling is important in the project’s success.

Blue Zones researchers surveyed the “When you look at anything sustainable, it has to be [an CHAIR IN A NURSING HOME, out the pledge with her family because people in these communities about how she wants her kids be more aware of the interest of] all of the generations,” she said. “It doesn’t work to BUT LIVE LONGER AND BE they live their everyday lives. With this healthy choices they can make. only have a healthy older generation, or a healthy younger genknowledge, the researchers constructed “We make a lot of pretty unusual eration. We’ve got to be working with all age groups. TraditionACTIVE. ” The Power 9, which are nine lifestyle healthy choices as a family anyway,” ally younger people were a little more creative, open minded, habits that are common among resiBorger-Germann said. “We’re vegetarand willing to try new things,” Greene said. “That’s key.” dents of the Original Blue Zones Areas. ians, and we ride our bikes to a lot Greene also believes the Blue Zones Project has to take The Blue Zones Project hopes that these of places. I wanted them to get the advantage of its inclusiveness. nine actions will encourage others to affirmation of, ‘Look at all the good “I think what makes it different is it’s not designed for any -SHANNON GREENE improve their everyday habits. choices we’re making,’ but also be aware one specific audience. It’s broad enough for everybody,” she said.

“It’s anything that’s going to help you that there are other good choices that The many pieces of the Project make it possible for anybody feel better and live longer. Not just live we could make together.” to find something that interests them. longer so you can sit around in a chair in a nursing home, but Borger-Germann first became interested in the Blue Zones “We hope people will hear about people taking the pledge— live longer and be active,” Greene said.

Project when she handed out the pledge to her homeroom high school students, senior citizens, average joes,—and conThe plan for this project incorporates six different sectors: students during the pledge drive. Although the project intrigued necting and seeing that it’s something that’s for everybody,” work sites, grocery stores, restaurants, schools, community her, she saw mixed reactions from the students.

Greene said. “You can find what speaks to you.” policy, and citizen engagements. Each sector has their own “I don’t know that [Blue Zones] can get students engaged,” separate goals, but they are all working toward the main goal Borger-Germann said. “I think any high school kid that of moving Iowa City from a Blue Zones demonstration site to a was interested saw the pledge sheet certified Blue Zones community. and filled it out in homeroom “If we put some work into the city, it will be more bike-able and was excited, but and walk-able, and people might walk downtown or bike to a nobody else movie,” Greene said. “[These are] just little tiny choices that add Eat small amo up to well-being, which is just living longer, healthier and more A 2,500 year old Confucian mantra Instead, fill yo vibrant.”

English teacher Alina Borger-Germann has seen evidence of encourages eating until you are 80% array of veget these changes in her neighborhood. full.

“I live on the really far east side, and for a long time there was no way to get from where I live to downtown, besides a car. Now there’s this Find a stress-relieving strategy to benefit both physically and emotionally. amazing path that they’ve been building, and it goes right from my door to downtown Iowa City,” Borger-Germann said. “It’s marvelous.”

Iowa City was one of 10 Knowing your life purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy. Incorporate your skills into a communities selected out of to add meaning to your life 87 applicants to become a demonstration site. If all parts of the project are completed by February 1 of 2016, Iowa City will become a certiFind ways to increase the amount of time you spend active with out even thinking about it. Take fied Blue Zones Community. The the stairs, park far away from the entrance, walk a dog, or do your own yard and housework. biggest part of this is the

By Riley Lewers & Maggie Morony

4 80% RULE

3 DOWN SHIFT

2 KNOW YOUR PURPOSE

1 MOVE NATURALLY

5 PLANT

NEWS December 18, 2014

ne Goes Blue Processing the Facts

By Payton Evans & Emma Pradaelli Obtaining food in a modern-day world has been simplified for the customer’s convenience.

Running to a local supermarket or fast food restaurant to pick favorite foods off the shelves takes a matter of minutes, but also decreases awareness about where that food comes from. Processed foods are becoming increasingly popular, in correlation with America’s rising obesity rate, begging the question: What exactly are we putting into our bodies?

According to marketplace.org, processed foods make up 70 percent of the average American’s diet.

When foods are processed, they slowly decay, losing nutrients and many of the benefits gained by eating fresh foods.

We can increase our awareness of what we are consuming by shopping for locally grown foods.

“Some produce will lose nutritional value the longer the period before you purchase or eat that item,” Farmers Market Coordinator Tammy Neumann said. “If you buy locally, that food is picked at its peak ripening state, and it will not have been sprayed with plant hormones to speed up the ripening process.”

Farmers Markets are one way of directly obtaining locally grown food. Buying from the farmers and producers in person eliminates any sort of curiosity as to what one is consuming.

“Everything sold at our market is produceronly,” Neumann said.

“This way[purchasing food at farmers markets] gives you the opportunity to engage with the person or place where you food comes from.”

One of Iowa City’s organic grocery stores, the New Pioneer Co-op, stocks an almost all locallygrown inventory. Local, as defined by the Co-op, is within a 250 mile radius of New Pi, or within the state of Iowa. Certain features of their website are dedicated to informing customers about the food they are purchasing, including a page about local farms and gardens that contribute to their store as well as mini bios containing information about the businesses, such as where they are located and what they make or grow.

“I can eat knowing that I am not only benefitting my body and spirit, but the community as well,” Theresa Carbrey, New Pioneer Co-op Education and Member Services Coordinator, said. “I can taste the freshness of the food and know that what I am putting in my body is beneficial to my health.”

According to LocalHarvest, a service dedicated to promoting local farmers, producers, distributors and restaurants, 18 cents of every dollar, when buying at a large supermarket, goes to the grower, while. 82 cents go to various middlemen. “[Shopping for locally grown foods] benefits the community, because it’s keeping the money in the community,” New Pioneer Co-op employee Lilly Brown ‘15 said. “At the Co-op, the money comes back to our employees and our members through our dividend checks, since

7 RIGHT TRIBE

we are a member-owned cooperation.”

Even larger chain grocery stores, such as HyVee, have begun to sell locally grown foods. The company started the Hy-Vee Homegrown label as a way to support local farmers, while bringing customers the freshest food. Hy-Vee purchases products such as meat, produce, cheese, and other foods from farmers and ranchers living in HyVee communities across the Midwest.

“Certain foods are only available at certain times of the season, and, in some cases, buying locally can be more expensive than buying from a grocery store,” Neumann said. “But it does keep farmers in business, and hopefully builds business for future farmers.”

LOVED 9 ONES FIRST

This can take shape in many ways. Caring for aging grandparents or being in a happy, committed relationship can add up to six years to your life.

8 COMMUNITY

The world’s longest-lived people are born into or choose to create social circles that support healthy behaviors.

Feeling part of a group and regularly attending meetings will improve quality of life.

6 WINE @ FIVE

(For your parents) Wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

NT SLANT

ounts of meat rarely. our diet with a wide tables.

action

Blue Zones Power 9 Principles for more information go to iowa.bluezonesproject.com

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OPINION

December 18, 2014

Staff Editorial:

Feeling Blue About Health

LH

The Blue Zones Project is gaining steam in the Iowa City area, and its recruiters have begun to take interest in high school students.

Executive Editors

anton buri, payton evans

News Editor claire noack

Opinion Editors

will barker, cody owen

Feature Editors

caroline brown, sonali durham

Design Editor cora bern-klug

Sports Editors

dominic balesteri-fox, & innes hicsasmaz The Blue Zones Project

Sports Feature Editor

®

becca meyer

Photo Editor kierra zapf

A&E Editor jonas geerdes

Copy Editor olivia parrott

Ad Managers

nina dang, taylor milefchik

Online Editors

sarah smith, nova meurice, nina dang, and taylor milefchik

Staff samuel bloom, will braverman, rosalie brennan, joe britton, hazel crew, madeline deninger, rachel fischer, duncan forbes, ellis fontana, miguel garcia, claire goodfellow, elise goodvin, jakob hillebrand, sadie hobbs, eliana hoffman, jonathan house, natalie jones, lydia kaufmann, riley lewers, sofie lie, mae mcdonough, lucy mcgehee, eleanor mildenstein, wynne miller, maggie morony, henry mosher, kennedy mwangi, drew orr, jacob pajunen, miles pei, isabella pittman, emma pradarelli, katrina scandrett, sophia schlesinger, arielle soemadi, austin tholen, brady vanlo

Adviser

jonathan rogers

Online Bios and Stories www.thelittlehawk.com/staff

mission statement

The Little Hawk, the student newspaper of City High School, aims to inform, educate and entertain readers; to provide an educational opportunity for the students who produce it; and to provide a medium for commercial advertising.

Equity Statements

It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices.

If you believe you have (or your child has) been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the Equity Director, Ross Wilburn, at 509 S. Dubuque Street, 319-688-1000.

ART BY LYDIA KAUFMAN

I

f you had to find a system to extend your life, your first impulse would be to look to those who live the longest ,and match their lifestyles.

This is the premise of the Blue Zones Project. The basic idea is that if you live your life just like an Okinawan, you’ll live longer. The manner in which they explain it is truly fascinating. They break down a series of austerities and state exactly how many years each step is going to add to your life. Likewise, a few of the steps are a little alarming, such as “know your place in society.” The message itself is a good one, still; relieving stress, being in motion, and enjoying your life will generally make one happy.

The Iowa City Chamber of Commerce is pushing for Iowa City to become one of the 10 selected communities to be the new projects of the community health program known as Blue Zones Project. Blue Zones Project is an organization that tries to promote healthy living in focused specific communities. Blue Zones has been successful in improving both the health of and health care costs

Do you think the Blue Zones Project will be able to improve Iowa City’s community health?

YES:

4

in a number of communities in the past. However, in the recent push to integrate Iowa City into the program, ideas and arguments have come across too simply, and seemed to be pushed on the community. A recent pledge given to West High students, asking them to pledge to be healthy, came across as forced and unwanted.

Many students feel that instead of making students take a personal pledge, the school district should take a pledge to improve the health of their students while at school.

Since the eating habits that kids establish early in life stay with them, the school district should work hard to designate a larger food budget, and should try to provide kids with tastier, healthier food. The lunch system now is very wasteful. It is a common occurrence to see a student get lunch, find out they don’t have money in

NO:

10

their account to pay, and have to hand over their food to the lunch staff, who then proceed to throw it away. As if having incredibly unhealthy food was not enough, students’ eating habits are further affected when they’re unsure if they will be able to eat at the start of each lunch. Students won’t be able to truthfully pledge to be healthy until the lunches that are provided by them by the school are made healthier.

We’ve all learned from that charming arthritis commercial that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion.” One of the big shticks of the Blue Zones Project is the idea that health comes with continual, natural exercise rather than rigorous, unnatural exercise, such as heavy weight lifting. And while we can’t all take four hours out of our day to run down our meal as our ancestors did,

the basic idea is still solid. Perhaps the solution is simpler. We have a great weight room at City, even if the environment for someone working out without being part of a sport can be a little hostile. Perhaps the school could have open times, where a supervisor would be in the room, and anyone who wanted to use the weight room would have an opportunity to work out.

The Blue Zones project is taking the initiative in a problem that everyone admits is there, but no one wants to fix. However, since drastic health action is a new idea, it will take awhile for a community as large and diverse as Iowa City to take it seriously and change. Blue Zone’s plan at the moment seems a bit too pushy, and kids who have been forced to fill out their survey have been scared away from the cause. Community health is an important issue, one that is very hard to fit into a half page survey. Likewise, high school students tend to get annoyed by constant, pestering emails. Perhaps instead of adhering to strict life-guidelines, we should adhere to the simple solutions all around us.

A13

December 18, 2014

OPINION

Thumbs

White House (Locked) Down

by Cody Owen

Yes! The midterm elections!

Now that we’ve shown that darned Obama and filled Congress with Republicans, all of that business with an ineffective Congress is finally over! Now we’ll finally have change! Of course, that was a joke.

Absolutely nothing is going to get done for the foreseeable future.

With the current session of Congress soon to be over, and a new wave of Republicans coming in, it’s garbage time for the president. His increasing use of executive orders to circumvent congress show now that there isn’t an election hanging in the balance, he’s actually willing to flex some executive muscle. As much as I feel I should disapprove of an attempt to avoid the due process of government and let Congress do its job, Congress is decidedly not doing its job. To the president, I say Gobama!

This, however, leaves us with a

real conundrum: how do we make Congress do its job? It’s a sad truth that, no matter what they may tell us on the campaign trail, whoever we elect will vote along party lines. Unless we decide to elect 535 independents, that will never change. Likewise, a Congress and president of differing parties, understandably, have a very hard time working together. Especially when the opposing party’s entire purpose for the last few years has been to reverse the cornerstone achievement of that administration.

This type of outcome is actually very common for the last midterm election of a president. Very rarely does a president in his sixth year retain any popularity. However, that doesn’t make it acceptable

for those in office to simply avoid doing their jobs. Perhaps blocking things on a partisan basis is somewhat understandable, and definitely not new, but when our roads and bridges are falling apart they’re obligated to do something about it. I would like to think that these people we’ve elected to office came with the intention to do more than make money. But I’m a realist. The sad truth is that the gridlock will persist because Congress is too disconnected from the people to care. The Senate is known in D.C. as the Millionaire’s Club. And what reason do they have to care? Over 90 percent of incumbents win reelection.

Not even scandal keeps these guys down. Anyone remember Newt Gingrich? He served his cancer-ridden wife divorce papers on her deathbed.

He was

also a viable presidential candidate last election. Or Michael Grimm, who easily won reelection in his New York district, despite being indicted for 20 counts of fraud during the election?

The point here is elected officials can’t be free to do whatever they want without fear of being ousted. These dirtbags don’t bother worrying about their actions, because all they have to do to get back in the public’s graces is say that they found Jesus. They let name recognition do the rest. Voters can’t just vote by party lines or vote for the only name they recognize. If things are going to change, people need to get informed about their vote and where it should go, because although the system may be broken, I would always take the lesser of two evils.

#McConnelling New Star Wars DTRB Trivia Crack Table Tennis with Your Head Mockingjay Fantasy Playoffs The Thirst Project Foreign Exchange Students

ART BY ELIANA HOFFMAN

Leftovers Regular Applesauce

Race Over Grades?

by Sadie Hobbs

As students logon to the college website of their dreams and start to fill out the college application, they come across the question, “What is your ethnic background or race?” Students see multiple choices to choose from, but as they look, they don’t see which ethnic background they are really from, because the question only asks their race.

Race identification should not be included in college applications.

It is simply unfair. It shows that in some cases, colleges select by race rather than by academic achievement. Why should a person that has a lower GPA and ACT score than me get accepted over me because of their race? I can’t change the color of my skin,or my ethnic-

ity, so it should not be a factor in whether I get into a college or not.

Accepting people into college because of their race is a case of affirmative action.

Affirmative action is favoring members of a disadvantaged group that suffers from discrimination, also known as reverse discrimination. Almost all colleges participate in affirmative action by asking your race, gender, and whether your parents went to college. This is a way to increase their college’s diversity. Affirmative action for college acceptance was meant to get rid of discrimination and create diversity. There is obviously no fair way of doing this, so colleges came up with accepting different races over Caucasians, even if they

didn’t get as good of grades or a higher ACT score.

The University of Michigan agrees that affirmative action is unfair. Last April, the Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action ban on college applications for Michigan. This also bans the use of affirmative action in hiring people for jobs at the University of Michigan. The Supreme Court has made it up to the states and universities on whether or not to abandon affirmative action programs. So far, California, Florida, Michigan, and Washington have banned affirmative action in their universities in college acceptance.

Most colleges agree on the importance of a diversity of ethnic backgrounds on campus be-

cause of its benefits in student experience with other cultures.

The color of your skin does not define your cultures and beliefs.

If colleges actually wanted to have more cultures and different ethnic backgrounds, you’d think they would be asking more questions about religion, customs, languages spoken at home, etc. Except most applications don’t have any of these questions.

Although more colleges are starting to realize accepting someone into college because of their race is unfair, it is still a huge problem. Discrimination will not disappear until all forms of it end; including affirmative action in college acceptance.

Comic:

FORE BELOW ZERO ART BY SARAH SMITH

Ellis Saying Yes The KKK Weird Weather Omegle German Rap Strawberry Applesauce. It’s an Oxymoron!

Blatant Racism in Modern-Day America Underwear for Christmas PSAT Scores Bronchitis Lost Baguettes Bill Cosby

A14

December 18, 2014

OPINION

Fill the Space

RIGHT TO REMAIN

by Will Barker

Since before the United States went to the moon in 1969, T.V. shows and space agencies alike have been telling us that space is “the final frontier”. Just as Americans were encouraged in the 1800s to push west because of “manifest destiny” in the twentieth century, it has become almost an unspoken truth that the next milestone for mankind and America is to explore space. However, after six trips to the moon and too many solar system exploration missions, NASA has not come up with many answers about the benefits of this frontier.

Since space exploration first became popular, the promise and possibility of establishing human settlements on other planets has kept the public interested. However it has slowly become apparent that this idea is nearly impossible, and very impractical. Any planet suitable for human life is hundreds of light years away, so until a warp drive (one is being worked on) is invented, the possibility of space colonies remains impossible. However despite this barrier, NASA still spends billions of dollars on space exploration every year. Since sustainability of

the ever growing population seems to be in the news more and more every day, NASA should spend more money on research in deep space travel, and less money bumming around our boring and useless solar system.

NASA aren’t the only ones jetting around the solar system, however. A nonprofit Dutch group plans to send people to mars in 2024. The project is called Mars One and hopes to slowly establish a permanent settlement on Mars over the next 20 years. This project is gaining massive amounts of public support because of its incredibly ambitious, but focused goal. While NASA projects are often unclear in their objectives, The Mars One group is clear about the mission’s purpose, and is good at marketing it.

With all NASA does, it is easy to forget why the organization was created in the first place: to race the Soviets to the moon in the Cold War. NASA was started as a project of war, and never has stopped being one. While it is great at publicity and public image, NASA’s first and main job is to establish military superiority in space.

It is because of this mission that NASA spends

so much time exploring our solar system, and not enough time researching deep space.

In addition to embarking on beneficial missions, recently NASA has had trouble finishing projects. During the Bush administration, a NASA project received publicity and funding to establish a moon colony by the year 2019.

However, once Obama was elected the project was abandoned, and the pointlessness of the mission was highlighted. It became clear that scientific discovery from this mission would be minimal, and that NASA money would be better spent elsewhere. One reason so many NASA projects are abandoned is that politicians support missions that will excite the public in the moment to get votes; to wait 12 years while a probe floats over to Pluto. The result of this impatience is wasted money.

With a new baby born every eight seconds, It is clear that the earth is going to become much more crowded in the next century. This means that if money is being spent on space research, one of the main concerns of NASA should be finding a way to leave this planet in the future.

SILENT

“

“Please keep your student greases off the white board.”

- M. Balcaen

“Excuse any strange comments, as I am on Nyquil.”

-Mr. Rogers

“It’s not rocket surgery.”

-Mr. Arp

“I can’t help myself, I love the vittles.”

-Mr. Hartwig

The “F-Word”: A Rundown of its Misconceptions

by Sofie Lie

T

wenty-four centuries ago, Greek philosopher Plato argued for the equality of women. As he said, “Ignorance is the root and the stem of every evil,” which can fluently apply to the misunderstanding of modern day feminism. Feminism is the social, political, and economic equality of the genders, which basically means any interest in being a halfway decent person would involve being an advocate of feminism. This doesn’t mean feminists have a hidden hatred for the male race, this simply means they have the sensibility to recognize equality. This jumbled idea that feminism favors women is precisely where the false impressions begin.

Although since the beginning of time, feminism has always been very much alive as men controlled almost every aspect of government, economy — you get the gist; the term “feminism” wasn’t widely used until the 1970s. And ever since it has been appointed its own title and avid followers, people have garnered the idea that to be a feminist, one must be an obnoxious female supremacist. This criticism has emerged from the fine line drawn between feminism and the equality of the sexes, when in actuality, that line doesn’t exist.

It’s important for the association between gender equality and feminism to be clear, and the concept to be understood. I, for one, do not want to live in such an ignorant world that women possess a tiny amount of social power and their

“

ART BY NOVA MEURICE

“In 30 years if you and I are both single, we will get married, and I’ll have a drink waiting for you when you get home.”

-Mr. Burkle to Keegan O’Berry

sole role in society is to procreate. Oh wait, that WAS the role of women in some cultures, until the 1800s, when the importance of gender equality was beginning to be more actively addressed.

Although there has been significant progress in equalling the opportunities of genders (think closing the education gap), female oppression isn’t a thing of the past — In April, a bill was proposed in an attempt to close the gender pay gap, and Senate Republicans rejected it; understanding that feminism is still relevant doesn’t get much more urgent than that.

Today, many celebrities such as Beyoncé, Emma Watson, and Taylor Swift are becoming some of the loudest advocates for gender equality. These prominent figures are helping feminism become one of the most contentious words flooding social media —and along with complete media coverage comes, wait for it: criticism.

Take, for example, Emma Watson’s UN speech.

She has to specifically define feminism as political, social, and economic equality of genders as to not receive criticism for what she calls “manhating.” She even addressed the effects of gender equality on BOTH genders. The inaccurate affiliation with feminism and women being superior to men is where the problem lies.

Feminism empowers anyone with freedom, so really, have no fear — and delve into the thought that by being an advocate for equality, the world will become less biased and more free.

A15

Calling Out Street

Harassment

by Sophia Schlesinger

The video released by the organization Hollaback! on October 27 has recently sparked much discussion about the phenomenon of street harassment, its effects, and whether or not it is a “real problem.” The video follows actress Shoshana B. Roberts around New York City, and shows just how many times she is catcalled, whistled at, and followed throughout a 10 hour day. The video’s downfall, however, lies within its questionable representation of the average harasser, as it shows clips mostly from predominantly black and Hispanic areas of New York.

This is so unfortunate because it has surpassed the conversation about street harassment, and the debate currently surrounding this issue becomes more about racism than anything else. This is not to say that the conversation about racism is invaluable, or that it’s irrelevant, it’s just that there is so much to be said still about street harassment. This is a conversation that should actively engage both men and women of all ages, but especially teenagers and young people, because we tend to have the most experience with it.

Defining harassment is far simpler than it seems: it’s just opinion. It’s the same as deciding what is offensive, and similarly, we have to decide what may or may not be offensive to other people. In the split second two people meet on the street, there’s little time to consider what a comment really means to someone. Out of this, we get the idea that harassment is somehow harmless. A good rule for safely interacting with a stranger is to do so as if you will see them every day for the rest of your life. And as is with everything regarding opinion, there is always variable. But we can collectively agree that the odds of offending someone are significantly lower if you say, “good morning,” versus, “Damn girl. Look at that ass.”

While harassment is most often verbal rather than physical, both have similar intent.

It comes with the knowledge that these precious few seconds on the street will be the only time you see this person, which somehow excuses the action of violating a woman, either through words or actions. It’s a display of confidence and dominance, and such intention quickly escalates. This is why the University of Iowa has put in place a strict policy on sexual harassment. Displays such as this lead to the idea that a woman should expect to be harassed depending on what she wears or how she looks. This disturbing ideology is a central idea in rape culture, and makes it such that a woman isn’t as safe as she should be in public.

Ultimately, if a compliment is truly as innocent as some claim, these-people should have no qualms about complimenting people of the same gender. But if you are a straight, white male, I can almost guarantee you’ve never heard, “damn, bro. Your biceps look good enough to eat,” from a fellow straight, white male you happen to pass on the street.

The two groups that encounter this problem the most are women and individuals of the LGBTQ community, and it is still a really difficult time to belong to either of these groups. A study was conducted this year by the organization Stop Street Harassment, which polled a total of 2,000 people nationally. Of this sample, 65 percent of all females polled reported experiencing street harassment, as did 25 percent of males (with a higher percentage of LGBTQ-identified men reporting harassment).

Let’s be clear about what the definition of a “real problem”: if it’s reported by the victim as harassment, it’s a problem. It’s really as simple as this. Additionally, people can’t claim the problem doesn’t exist if they’re not part of the affected group, and truthfully, there’s no reason to lie about being harassed. Steve Santagati, a very white, very straight male (the single group that has never been alienated from American society), reacted to the Hollaback! video on CNN. Of his many poorly-backed claims, one of the worst was that the street harassment issue should be solved by women standing up for themselves via tasteful use of the “f-word”, and by being able to throw a

December 18, 2014

OPINION Let’s Get Satirical:

War has been Declared... Again!

The snow is falling, the lights are shining, the voices of carolers echo through the streets, the gift wrap section is thriving, the prices are up, and the Christmas season has started.

Already you can feel that joyous feeling all around as people dangerously set up lights, complain about the weather, and create plans in advance to escape Thanksgiving with your relatives for those sweet, sweet deals. Truly this is a very Merry Christmas… Or is it?!? Look around you, sheeple, the spirit is gone from this world and the government is trying to destroy our very basic rights to hang oversized socks on our chimneys or put plastic trees in our living rooms, and now they even want to replace everyone’s favorite holiday with just another corporate abomination, like Easter.

Every year this onslaught by the government continues in one form or another, and every year we must fight against each ridiculous rule or regulation. First we couldn’t have Jesus Christ in Christmas, which is absolutely ridiculous. I mean it’s in the name for Christ’s sake! Then we couldn’t have nativity scenes in our parks. How else am I supposed to witness Jesus’ birth again? On my neighbor’s lawn? No thank you, mine is already better. And now we can’t even say, “Merry Christmas”. Now we have to say something stupid like, “Happy Holidays”. Who even cares about those other holidays; have you ever met someone who celebrates Kwanzaa? Exactly. They even tried to replace Santa with Jack Frost! Who the frost

cares about him?! What kind of child would want to sit on the lap of a homeless man named “Jack Frost” and tell him what they want for Christmas? That sounds like something you would need a PSA for.

It’s because of these horrid actions that we as Americans have to face the hard truth: we are under attack. You may choose to ignore it, but no one can deny the fact that we are fighting a guerrilla war, and the enemy is everywhere, just like in Home Alone 2. They’re hiding in every corner, waiting for us to spring their dumb traps. Well not this time MSNBC! This year will be different. We will no longer succumb to your stupid “constitutional regulations”, whatever that means. This jolly holiday, the people will rise up in protest against tyranny, and this night will not be silent for we will be jingling all the way.

For too long I have felt unlawfully oppressed as a white Christian in this country, and these spirit-dampening laws are the reason. I mean, the year is 2014 and your average man cannot even celebrate Christmas in peace without the government knocking down his door and taking everything he owns. Or maybe those were the tax collectors? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that it’s unfair, and I won’t stand for it anymore!

It’s time we take charge of this situation and bring the fight to the White House! Soon their mailbox will be overflowing with hundreds of angry letters, and then they will know that we

by Ellis Fontana mean business this time.

And for those of you who think I’m “overreacting” or “blowing things out of proportion”, if you check the news you can see this is becoming an international crisis as well.

Recently South Korea announced plans to put up a giant Christmas tree in Seoul, and North Korea responded by threatening to bomb it.

That’s right America, if you try to bring down our holiday spirit, then you’re just as bad as North Korea. Do you want to be North Korea, America? Of course not, no one wants to be North Korea; even North Koreans don’t want to be North Korea. On top of that, some places, such as the Middle East, are absent of Christmas completely. Instead they celebrate Hanukkah, or something like that.

I believe that it’s about time we stop ignoring the real problem at hand, and face it like a man. Just think about the children for once, and the effect that this war will have on their future. If we fail here our kids will grow up in a world without Christmas. They’ll never know about Santa, or what a Christmas tree is.

They’ll never see snow again, because Christmas is gone from the land. Without Christmas they’ll never know right from wrong because Santa isn’t there to tell them. And worst of all, they may never experience eggnog. So just do yourself a favor and think about that the next time you “forget” to put up your Christmas lights this year.

ART BY SARAH SMITH

@!*#&@*

punch. However, as comedian Amanda Seales pointed out to him, one woman in Detroit was shot for refusing to give her attacker her phone number, clearly showing that standing up for ourselves isn’t effective ,or even safe, at this point.

Furthermore, this can’t be called a solution to this problem; a person is harassed, victimized, and their behavior is corrected?

This has to be the most backward and infu-

riating societal trend we currently have. It’s the same attitude that’s applied to rape cases, it’s the same attitude that’s applied to minority groups, it’s the same attitude we ultimately saw in the recent failure to indict Darren Wilson: the victim is blamed and the harasser, the murderer, the rapist walks.

These are extreme displays of this attitude, but they should make it clear that we need change in this respect. My only hope

is that while the discussion of street harassment retains some limelight, we can begin to amend this problem in its everyday forms— such as the lingering seconds with a stranger in a public space. These are the seconds when everything about treating a human being can be forgotten, and for a terrifying instant, anything is possible.

ART BY CORA BERN-KLUG

A16 Upcoming Events New Year’s Eve Jazz Fest @ Hotel Vetro - 201 Linn St. on December 31st All Day The Joshua Show @ Englert Theater - 221 E. Washington St. on January 17th at 10 pm - $10 Miranda Lambert with Justin Moore @ US Cellular Center on March 14th at 7:30pm- $70+

ARTS

&

ENTERTAINMENT Wizard of Oz Pinball

New Planet on the

Pinball Machine You’re not in Kansas anymore, the world of Oz is brought to Iowa City through pinball. Use Dorothy’s rube shoes to flip your ball and score points from this classic tale.

TMNT Arcade Edition

4-player Fight through levels and face famous TMNT villains, including Shredder himself, to save your comrades.

Block

TMNT Arcade Edition 2-player Whether its competitionbased or solo for fun, this game will challenge your puzzle-solving skills, and provide a challenge to any veteran player of the series.

By Jonas Geerdes

Press Start

After extensive cleaning, The Tobacco Bowl in downtown Iowa City will be transformed into an arcade.

The Tobacco Bowl closed down mid-May this year after 24 years of business. Renovations on the space began shortly after.

“We completely destroyed the place,” Luther Moss, a co-owner along with Cory Ingles and Tommy Connolly, said about the construction. “We were able to bring the good of Tobacco Bowl back to the arcade.”

The arcade, Forbidden Planet, opened November 6, after oringinally slated to open September 26.

Moss, who had previously been a manager of the Tobacco Bowl, explained that the idea originated as a regular pizzeria, however he believed it wasn’t the best concept, with the abundant number of pizza restaurants downtown.

“I thought that there was plenty of pizza already in downtown,” Moss said. “But there wasn’t an arcade. I thought the combination would work out nicely.”

People of all ages have flocked to the new arcade. Charles Beebe, a bartender at the arcade, says that the opening was a busy time, and that there was positive community feedback.

“I think they were surprised that we had good pizza,” Beebe said. “And then they would spread the word to all their friends.”

Moss says he was also astonished by the turnout.

“We’ve had peopleof all ages come visit [the store],” Moss explained. “We’ve had a four-year-old’s birthday party, where they stood on a box and played some tetris.”

The arcade opens early in the morning, and stays quiet throughout the afternoon. Business picks up later in the evening, with the arrival of more mature customers.

When deciding the games for the arcade, Moss wanted to focus on fun, cooperative games that they could fit in their space.

“We chose games that we thought showed what an

arcade could do; something that your smartphone or other things can’t do,” Moss said. “We liked games like Donkey Kong and the original Pac-man, but we want to surprise people as well.”

Moss added that the games chosen were based on what he described as a “Castle effect”, named after famous film director William Castle, who was known for low-budget films, each with their own gimmick.

“One film would have a ghost that you could only see with certain glasses,” Moss said. “Like his films, I think that arcade games each have their own thing. It can be something as simple as the dashboard.”

Moss plans to make additions to the arcade Upcoming games include Asteroids and Tempest.

Current inhouse games include Teenage Mutant Turtles, Street Fighter, Tetris, Junior Pac-man and several pinball machines,with themes from The Wizard of Oz and “Doctor Who”.

Abby Pradarelli ‘18 went to Forbidden Planet, and liked the look of the place.

“It was old-fashioned but modern at the same time,” Pradarelli said. “I didn’t expect to stay there for so long.

It got addictive.”

On the menu, the arcade serves several different pizza styles. Pizzas are served metro, neopolitan, and deep dish. The format used for the pizzas is an original recipe conceived by the owners.

“It came out better than I imagined,” Moss said, regarding the food. “[Ingle] and I came up with something that really worked with what we had.”

The kitchen is led by co-owner Ingle, and includes previous staff from The Wedge, a restaurant previously located nearby , that closed in early September.

Forbidden Planet seems to be here to stay, as Moss meets new customers everyday.

“Everyone’s been so positive. People keep coming in, and enjoying pizza and games.,” Moss said. “It’s been great so far.”

1971 Computer Space, the first commercially sold arcade video game

1978 Taito releases Space Invaders, the first blockbuster video game.

1979 Nintendo releases Sheriff, a run-and-gun multidirectional shooter

1986 Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros.

1972 Atari Inc. begins marketing Pong, the first sports video game.

1980 Namco releases Pac-Man.

1982

Sega releases Dayton USA, the company’s most successful arcade game.

A17

A&E December 18, 2014

Dancers Shine in the Spotlight Juniors Quincey Scholz, Leigh Durian, and Erin Glenn center their lives around the art of dance.

By Innes Hicsasmaz Dancers line the walls of the studio, as one-by-one they leap gracefully across the floor. With every turn, they find themselves in the mirror, checking their form. Nothing must be out of place.

Such was the routine of Nolte Academy dancers as they prepared for the studio’s annual performance of The Nutcracker in early December. Nolte dancers rehearsed for months, prior to the six shows. Each night of the week before opening night, the dancers spent five hours at the Englert Theater, going over every inch of the performance.

Among the dancers involved were City High students Quincey Scholz ‘16 and Leigh Durian ‘16. Serious dancers since they were toddlers, these two share a unique interest in ballet, the most rigorous form of dance.

“The hardest thing about ballet is that you have to be very particular with your movements,” Scholz said. “Your hips have to be in the perfect spot, your legs have to be perfectly rotated, and your arms have to be in a certain position.”

Like many dancers, Scholz specializes in classes of dance other than ballet, such as contemporary, modern, and concert jazz.

“I like ballet and contemporary the most. I like ballet because of the strict set of rules, and because I know what I’m doing right, and what I’m doing wrong,” Scholz said. “But with contemporary, it’s fun to just move around and find yourself in it.”

This past summer, Scholz had the unique opportunity to spend six weeks in Pittsburgh for Point Park University’s International Summer Dance Intensive program.

“I got to meet dancers my age from all over the world. We focused on all styles of dance, working eight to 10 hours a day.

We had different teachers every week for different classes,” Scholz said. “And at the end we had a big performance.”

Unlike Scholz, a relative newcomer to Nolte Academy, Durian has been dancing with Nolte since she was two.

Durian landed a highlighted role as one of the Spanish dancers.

“People ask me if I get nervous with all those people staring at me, but I don’t,” Durian said. “I kind of block out the audience when I’m dancing. I’m just in my own world. When I’m done, it’s a rewarding feeling. People will congratulate you, and it’s good to know that everything you’re working for is paying off.”

The urge to dance seems to run in Durian’s family, with both of her siblings heavily involved in dance as well. She has plans to follow in her older sister’s footsteps, and major in dance in college. Along with Scholz, Durian spends hours every night in multiple classes, working on different dances.

“There are times when I just don’t want to go to dance; I’d

rather stay home and go to bed early,” Durian said. “Then I have multiple classes in a row, and I want to go to one, but not another. But I always push through it and know that I’m getting better.”

Scholz agrees with the strain dancing can put on her mind and body.

“Sometimes I wonder if I even want to still do dance,” Scholz added. “But then there are times that make me happy that I do it, that makes me want to do it all the time. I’ve been doing it for so long now that it’s just part of me.”

Nolte Academy is one of the three major dance schools in Iowa City, along with National Dance Academy, and Kate Carol & Company Dance. While The Nutcracker is an exclusively Nolte production, many people are involved in other projects unique to their studio.

Erin Glenn ‘16 has been dancing at Kate Carol Dance since she was three.

“When I was little, I used to walk around my house in a tutu, so my parents decided to put me in dance. When I was in second grade, I got put into the performing company at [Kate Carol Dance], and ever since then I’ve just loved it.”

At the end of November, Glenn went to Chicago with her studio to visit the Giordano Dance company, an influential studio in the creation of the rules of jazz. The dancers took classes with some of the Giordano teachers and company members.

“It was just a really fun experience,” Glenn said. “It was good to have different teachers, because you’re so used to having one person tell you how to do it. We learned different ways to go about it.”

Because they are not involved in dance at school, many people are unaware that these girls are dancers. While there are various activities geared towards dancing at City High, most notably the dance team, these girls feel like that is not what they’re looking for in their dance.

“Dance team is competitive, but my studio doesn’t do competitions; we focus more on the classical ballet aspect,” Glenn said.

Glenn tried out for dance team in the eighth grade, and quickly decided that it was not her style.

“As I learned the dances, I felt like my body wasn’t used to the moves at all. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought I looked really weird doing it,” Glenn said. “I just decided not to go the next day, because I didn’t think I was going to fit in well.”

While Glenn doesn’t plan on continuing her dance career after high school, she agrees that dance has had a significant influence on her life.

“Dance has played a large part [in my life]. Growing up, I’ve made friends through dance, I’ve had injuries through dance, and I’ve had all these great experiences through dance,” Glenn said. “It does take up a lot of time, but over the years I guess I’ve just found a way to manage my time.”

PHOTOS BY INNES HICSASMAZ

A18

A&E December 18, 2014

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town All I Want for Christmas is You White Christmas (Chestnuts) Silver Bells We Wish You a Merry Christmas O Christmas Tree Deck the Halls Joy to the World Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Jingle Bell Rock Hanukkah Song The Kwanzaa Song

Rock out to some modern music with an old school twist while listening to Cherub.

This band is definitely one to check out.

Bon Iver:

Skinny Love, Blood Bank

PHOTO BY KIERRA ZAPF

Playing for Success With her violin in hand, and greatness in mind, Anna Kaldjian strives for success.

By Taylor Milefchik Anna Kaldjian ‘15 is no stranger to success, as she has been a developing violinist skills since the age of four and being a 4-year all stater.

Kaldjian comes from a diverse background of other successful violinists.

“My dad always played for me when I was little, we have pictures of me laying on the couch just as I was home from the hospital from being born and him playing for me.”

Kaldjian said. “When I was younger, he would often practice while I was falling asleep at night. He always asked if the noise bothered me when I was trying to sleep, but I loved it so much.”

From early beginnings, the road to being a successful musician wasn’t always clearly paved for Kaldjian.

“I never asked to quit, and I never wanted to quit, but there were many

times I didn’t want to practice. There still are,” Kaldjian said. “But when you’re little it’s harder, because when other kids are playing, you have to come inside and practice.”

Anna Kaldjian serves as the concertmaster for City High’s symphony orchestra, a role she has played for the past two years.

“Of course I’m going to try to improve the actual music but if anything I played or anything I’ve said in my orchestral role has made anyone love music more, thats the real role of my leadership and thats the real goal,” said Kaldian.

Kaldjian has also attended musical festivals such as Credo, a summer orchestral leadership festival that has helped her develop her musical abilities, for the past three years. The festival takes place in Oberlin, Ohio and integrates community service with musical growth by holding service days.

“We play for the community, in

nursing homes and hospitals, and teach free lessons for underprivileged kids,” said Kaljian. “It really brings music to a lot of people who might not otherwise have it. As musicians we often tend to be so focused on our own success that it becomes difficult to look outside of that to others.

Credo helps us to step back and realize how blessed we are.”

Besides attending musical festivals, Kaldjian has been able to make allstate for the past four years.

Even though Kaldjian isn’t choosing a career in music, it will always be a large portion of her life.

“I don’t plan to do music as a career, I want to do academics but I want music to be a part of my education and a part of college,” Kaldjian said. “It’s definitely going to be the next most important thing to academics. I want to be in whatever symphony I can at university level. I’ll always want to play.”

Feel like cuddling up next to a fire while watching the snow fall?

Bon Iver’s soft and meaningful songs would be a beautiful match to a beautiful view.

Jam out with alt-j’s chill vibes while hanging with your friends.

Postmodern Jukebox:

Drunk In Love, Royals

If you’re ready for a party, this music will set that New Year’s Eve party beat that you and your friends can dance to all night.

the Little Hawk

Online Birdman Review

by Ellis Fontana

A19

A&E December 18, 2014

Best of

The year 2014 was a preeminent year full of activity. We’ve reached for stars with space classics like Interstellar and Guardians of the Galaxy. Pop star Taylor Swift almost made a comeback with her 15 minutes of fame with her new album 1989. Political issues have defined new racial tensions, providing a clear message to future generations: Black lives

matter. 2014 even gave City High a run for its money with our triumphant victories over cross-town rival West in soccer and volleyball. In all of pop culture has had its ups downs and downs. Here is what I, Jonas Geerdes, the glorious A&E editor of the The Littlehawk, has to say about the past 365 days.

According to Jonas Geerdes

Jonas Geerdes Local Opinionated Man, A&E Editor, and Obvious Bad Ass

Interstellar Gone Girl 22 Jump Street The Lego Movie

Movies

Yik Yak Crazy Helium Booth Kim Kardashian Game

“Take Me to Church” “Am I Wrong” “Rude” “Habits (Stay High)”

The 1989 by Taylor Swift X by Ed Sheeran In the Lonely Hour by Sam Smith

Little Big Planet 3 Assassin’s Creed Call of Duty: AW

Women’s Riding Boots Cutout Dresses Men’s Khakis Sperry’s

City vs. West - Men’s Soccer City vs. West - Girl’s Volleyball City vs. Prairie - Boy’s Football

Food Money Fuzzy Socks

Apps

Yo! Flappy Bird 2 Cars

Songs

“Shake It Off ” “Fireball” “Let Me Take a Selfie” “Chandelier”

Albums

Video Games Unisex Birkenstocks Sperry’s

Expendables 3 Let’s Be Cops Robocops Penguins of Madagascar

Fashion

Sporting Events

Holiday Gifts

This Is All Yours by Alt-J Sweet Talker by Jessie J Any Christmas album by ANY CELEBRITY

Watchdogs Destiny Sims 4

Women’s Crop tops with low rise jeans See-through yoga pants Men’s Cropped Sweatpants

Unisex Beanies Crocs

Loss to Iowa State - Iowa Football Loss to West - Men’s Football

Coal Suitcase Milk

A20

A&E December 18, 2014

Q&A

Show Choir Calendar January 7 Dollars for Scholars Performance @ 7:30pm in Opstad Auditorium

LH: When did you join show choir?

MM: Sophomore year is when I started choir. I didn’t join before then because I was too nervous.

ST: I did show choir in eighth grade, and then stopped my freshman year due to time. I joined later again sophomore year. It looked fun when my brother did it, and so I tried it.

TF: I joined junior year, late in the season. Calvin Windschitl ‘14, last year’s dance captain, texted me and said, “Hey we need more guys on team,” and so now I’m here. I’ve danced before, so I was fine on stage.

LF: I joined show choir in seventh grade. It was really fun and I just fell in love with it.

LH: What is your most embarrassing moment?

MM: Last year we had a number when we had to switch dresses. I didn’t have anything underneath but the body liner, and the hook behind my neck came off. I was all exposed and had to run offstage, and then sneak back on. It was all on the front row as well.

ST: During our first full dress rehearsal, my pants were too small, and I kind of looked like a jack-o-lantern with all my butt sweat. And then during a show at Linn-Mar, my pants ripped and I danced with a middle seam open.

TF: Our last spring show, I slipped while trying to pick up one of the girls on the last dance. It was pretty bad.

I didn’t fall, I just failed to pick her up.

LF: I don’t know. I tend to do embarrassing things. After performances, people post pictures of our performace online. I definitely have some interesting photos.

LH: What is your favorite moment in showchoir?

MM: Competition season. When competition starts, people just start bursting with energy. It’s such a good feeling. We all become really close ,and it’s a great community to be apart of.

ST: I want to say being grand champions is my favorite, but we had a rehearsal that was really good. We didn’t have the best start this year, but in that rehearsal we really clicked, and everythign was good. I was finally seeing my friends do well; it just looked like a good combination.

TF: Winning grand champs at Linn-Mar was a cool moment. It was awesome to see everyone so happy, and to see that trophy.

LF: That’s really hard. I have a lot of great moments. I just like how everyone connects. When you get to competitions everyone’s so nice and smiling; it’s just a good environment.

LH: What is a dance captain’s role?

MM: Its a leadership role. You’re not bossing people. It’s rehearsing, helping people learn the dance moves, and making sure everyone is on task. You’re not better than anyone; you’re just trying to help people with their moves and notes.

ST: Being prepared and understanding everything that’s going on. If you don’t know the answer, then you can’t progress and

January 17 Supernova Linn-Mar High School January 31 The Big Dance Davenport North High School February 7 Mount Pleasant Show Choir Competition Mount Pleasant High School March 7 Iowa City Barbershop @ 7:30pm in Opstad Auditorium

further as a group. Tyler is good with all of the dances, and I tend to cover the music.

TF: We are supposed to keep everyone on task. We need to help everyone with choreography problems ,and keep the morale up.

We keep things flowing, and make it easier for Berry. We try to make everyone feel like they’re a part of the team.

LF: Show choir is something that is close to my heart. You have to deal with things that other people don’t see. You have to help the group move past all these little moments and get better, which we have.

LH: Any tips for aspiring 4th Avers?

MM: You can’t be afraid. The audition process isn’t scary at all; it’s super fun, and once you’re in, it is just a great feeling.

It’s something I encourage people to do. You just have to go out there and give it your all; you will be super happy you did.

ST: Facials and composure. It’s my favorite thing about show choir. You go out on stage smiling really big, and you can’t care what you look like. The goofier you look, I feel, is more pleasing to the audience.

TF: Analyze other show choirs, and look at how they perform.

You have to have a good mindset, and listen to the directors, because they know what’s going on. Look up stuff on YouTube, because there is good content on there that will help.

LF: I would say work hard and always try to do your best. Sing and dance full out and remeber to have fun while doing it!

bey ‘1 5

Fisc her ‘15

Scott Trib

Libb y

5 y ‘1 r Fa Tyle

Dance Captains

January 10 Prairie Premiere Cedar Rapids Prairie High School

y orono

gie M

Mag ‘15