September 2019

Page 1

Leader of the Pack

Gamers go legit

@mattforohio

Connor Magness profiles new CC coach Brian Flaherty. see Faculty Features - pg. 4

Jacob Cowans reports on the new esports teams at Elder see Features - pg. 12

Jack Langen examines the campaign drive of Dr. Wahlert see Features- pg. 16

Published by the Students of Elder High School

Volume 88 Number 1

Carmine Domenicone ‘20 Co-Editor in Chief

Last year, from the class of 2019, Elder

High School sent six courageous men off to serve their country shortly following graduation. Matthew Allison and Tyler Schutte enlisted in the United States Army, Brad Gemereth enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, Ben Johnson now attends The Citadel, Tim Finley continued his academic and athletic career at the U.S Merchant Marine Academy, and Gunnar Wall, the man I’ll be focusing on, chose to attend the United States Naval Academy. Being fortunate enough to know Gunner ever since I was in about the fifth grade, playing hoops up at Our Lady of Lourdes, he has always struck me as a motivated kid. I can remember one incident where we were playing a pickup game up at the gym and he came in to box me out for a rebound. Being a year older than me, he clearly wanted to assert his dominance as he proceeded to shove me as I went up to grab the ball for a board. I can remember how physical the kid played and in guarding him every time, all I wanted to do was match that physicality. Looking back now, I can clearly see some of the qualities and characteristics that led Gunnar to the prestigious pinnacle he has reached today. Determination, leadership, and overcoming adversity are just a few of Wall’s qualities that deserve recognition. I was lucky enough to get in touch with Gunnar and get some insight on his first “plebe’ summer at the Academy. For those who are unfamiliar with the term “plebe”, it simply refers to a newly entered cadet or freshman, especially at a military academy. I asked him to give a brief rundown of all plebe summer entails. “Plebe summer is designed to break you down as individuals and build you up as a member of a team, in my opinion. That’s exactly what it did. We don’t just

“If you aren’t pushing yourself, you aren’t getting better, so embrace the suck. The day you stop getting better mentally, morally, and physically is the day you start dying.” think and act for ourselves, everything we do, we do together. Plebe summer prepares you to be a midshipman and all of plebe year prepares you to be an upperclassman. Once you’re an upperclassman, it’s about learning to lead because your next step is the fleet,” Wall said. Physical toughness is essential to surviving in any military academy let alone one of the most prestigious, the Naval

Photos courtesy of Grady Wall

Wall reflects on plebe summer

September 30, 2019

Finley’s full days at the Merchant Marine Nicholas Seger ‘20 Staff Writer

As previously mentioned in Carmine’s

Gunnar Wall (‘18) said plebe summer at the US Naval Academy breaks you down in order to build you back up.

Academy. When asked about the physical aspect of things Wall said, “The physical training was rigorous but not dreadful by any means. I’ve played sports all my life and am reasonably fit, so the physical stuff wasn’t too bad.” Not only does physical toughness play an essential part, but the mental strain and beating your mind takes while involved in this training can be brutal. “The mental training on the other hand: that stuff breaks you down no matter how fit you are. However, when the times got tough, you just look around and see your classmates going through the same sh*t and knowing you we’re all in it together made it a lot easier,” he said. He told me they had a saying that went like this: “If you aren’t pushing yourself, you aren’t getting better, so embrace the suck. The day you stop getting better mentally, morally, and physically is the day you start dying.” I think that speaks to the type of character and person it takes to embrace the suffering of being a true midshipman and learning to fight for not only your own betterment, but the betterment of the unit as a whole. I’m sure many of you have always wondered what campus life is like in an Academy setting just as I have. Wall explained to me that campus life is in fact not typical campus life at all. Moreover, it is basically a walled-in military base. As freshmen, he told me that they are permitted to leave the yard on Saturdays until midnight, but other than that, they

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article about Gunnar Wall, six brave men in Elder’s 2019 class enlisted in either the Army, Citadel, Marines, Naval Academy, or the Merchant Marine Academy. This was a very courageous act by each of these men, and they all deserve our highest respect. One of these men in particular, Tim Finley, decided to attend the United States Merchant Marine Academy to continue his academic and athletic career. I have had the pleasure of knowing Tim for about five years now, and he has unknowingly had a tremendous impact on me. Much of this impact happened while on the football field last year. For those of you who do not know, Tim was the starting center on Elder’s football team last year, and he was one of the best, if not the best, leaders on the team. Whether it be in the locker room, on the practice field, or during a game, he was always going his hardest. Tim was one of those players that was not scared to call you out for slacking. He knew that when one player took a play off, the whole team was affected. Tim would never take any breaks on or off the field. I really admire this ability he has of leading by example. The best type of leaders are the ones who hold themselves accountable too. Despite his little free time, I got the chance to catch up with Tim to talk about his first few months at the Academy. I asked about the physical training he has had to go through so far and how he has handled it: “The physical training consists of a lot of push-ups, sit ups, and squat holds. The worst part about PT is getting up at 0500 for it.” Tim said the physical portion of everything has not been too difficult for him. This is no surprise to anyone who knows Tim. He is an absolute workhorse in any environment but especially in the weight room. He also described the mental part of the training: “There is a lot of mental toughness needed to get through it sometimes, but I felt very prepared coming from Elder football.” This says a lot about the coaches and the program we have here at Elder. Last, he mentioned the emphasis on class unity up there. Basically, this is the bond that is formed between everyone by suffering and succeeding together during each workout. The people that you suffer with are the people with whom you build the biggest bonds. The Merchant Marine Academy is located in Kings Point, New York, which is about an eleven-hour drive from Elder. As one can imagine, this was a difficult transition for Tim. One of the most difficult changes for him was academically: “The school load here causes lots of stress and work since we combine

Tim Finley (‘19) has a hectic schedule at the Merchant Marine Academy but feels that Elder prepared him well.

four years of college into three. The fourth year consists of me being out at sea on a ship.” Losing an entire year of time and still managing to complete all of his work sounds extremely difficult. Another difficult transition was getting to know people. Previous to starting school at Elder, the majority of freshman know a decent number of students from their grade school or sports. However, in college this can change greatly, especially if you are going to a college many hours away. “Coming into USMMA, I knew one person. However, after a couple weeks of training there were many bonds formed with my shipmates, and now I can refer to a lot of them as close friends,” stated Tim. I cannot imagine knowing almost no one and going to school in New York. To me, this shows that he is fearless. This is yet another significant quality that will serve him well in the Academy and throughout his life. Although this experience has been pivotal in his life and amazing all around, Tim still does miss his family and friends. He commented on this difficulty by saying, “It is a complete change in life, not seeing the people that I’ve been with growing up. I miss everyone so much.” Again, I do not think I could ever make the sacrifice that Tim has made and go without my family and friends. Tim also greatly misses some of Cincinnati’s best

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Inside The Quill

Opinion....................................... 2,3 Faculty Features....................... 4,15 Student Features................. 5,6,7,13 Sports.................................... 8,9,10 Features.................................. 11,12 Arts & Entertainment.................. 15 Back Page.................................... 16


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Monday September 30, 2019

Opinion

Changing schools for class isn’t for everyone

To test or not to test

Going over to Seton for class is something that not all Elder students get to experience.

Mason Berger ‘20 Co-Editor in Chief

Joe Book ‘20 Staff Writer

It is a rare occurrence for someone from the all-male home of the Panthers to walk among the emerald halls of Seton. Not only is it generally believed to be a nice change of scenery, but also a nice overall shift of pace. However, is taking a class at Seton High School all that it is chalked up to be? According to my sources, there are a large plethora of drawbacks, complications, difficulties, and cons that come with going to the place where the Saints learn. One of the most significant of these annoyances is, according to AP Calculus taker Jared Vornhagen, simply the walk. Although from personal experience, the walk isn’t that long, I will admit that there are a lot of steps. Going from Elder to the top floor of Seton requires trekking across Elder, up the garage, and up to (usually) one of the upper floors – a true journey for we who are used to everything being close together. Another downside to taking class at Seton is the risk of “not knowing anyone going into that class the first day,” said Jack Bruggeman, a dual credit Engineering student. Although going to Seton can be seen as a great way to get away from the same old drab halls of the Panthers, it can also be seen like transferring to another school. Going to a class where you know no one is never fun. I then asked Ethan Plagge, who informed me that he doesn’t like going to Seton for class simply because it makes him late for flex period. Flex period really isn’t that long and many students see it as an escape from the dull lectures that normal classes sometimes holds for them. It really is no surprise why students like every minute of their flex period. Finally, the last student I talked to, Justin Long, stated that one of the largest negative aspects for him was more academic oriented. We here at Elder make use of the newer (and more convenient) OnCampus system to check our grades. Seton on the other hand, still uses the older Netclassroom website. In short, you have to check OnCampus for your Elder grades, but Netclassroom for your Seton grades. Although this might not sound like too much of a problem, it works out to be a major inconvenience – your grades simply aren’t all in the same place So, is class at Seton everything that a lot of students think it is? I think that there is a case to be made that it isn’t. The journey simply to get to class, the time constraint, the social aspect, and the fact that not everything is under one system all provide a convincing argument for why going to Seton isn’t really that exciting. However, you still might be asking about that major reason why everyone wants to go to Seton? That one thing that makes all guys brag that they have class there. That singular, sweet, and hot aspect that makes class at Seton an allure for the men of Elder. Well, bad news: the coffee shop isn’t open to us.

Do you use One Drive? Adam Duwel ‘21 Staff Writer

One Drive is something we all use almost everyday but have no idea what it does. “One Drive is an Internet based storage platform that allows our students, faculty, and staff members save their data in the cloud,” said Mr. Horvath of the Elder Help Desk. One Drive is the only reason our files are saved after our computers are cleaned up in the summer. OneDrive is the quickest of the cloud-based storage providers. The Sync process is fast. When videos and files need to be shared with everyone the best way to do so is through OneDrive. OneDrive is a secure way to ensure all files are safe even if your computer crashes. These files are attached to your Microsoft account. It works whether the account is Eld- or E22- or E23. The individual storage capacity of OneDrive is One Terabyte. One Terabyte equals 1000 Gigabytes. Seton uses Google Drive and Google Classroom as their sources to share things. Google Drive is not user friendly. I have using Google Drive for my personal data. And although I am not a fan of the service, I have used it for this long so I can’t turn back now. Google Drive is used mainly for Google driven accounts. Seton has Google Classroom so they go hand in hand. One Drive is cost effective for Elder because of our subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Suite. As far as the most space on a computer. The Help Desk has seen some student computers reach 100% full. This makes the units slow down and ultimately crash. Mr. Horvath didn’t mention any names with 100% full but I can guess it was probably Jack Langen.

For seniors, it’s that time of year. It’s time to really start thinking about what we are

going to do in life after Elder. It’s kind of hard to believe if you ask me. Along with considering the endless possibilities of life after Elder comes the extensive and sometimes painful process of applying to schools or whatever organization you want to enter. It really sucks. What students tend to stress out about the most if you ask me is their ACT score. So much of your future seems to depend on the score of this test, and it really could make or break someone’s future aspirations. Recently, Xavier University announced that it is no longer requiring standardized tests for student admission, essentially defeating the purpose of taking the ACT or SAT. These types of schools are called “test optional”, and do not make admission decisions based on standardized testing scores. While standardized tests are not required for admission at these types of schools, they still serve some purpose. Many schools use these scores as placement benchmarks and/or scholarship determination. This may be one of the most controversial topics I have ever heard discussed between students at Elder, so I’m not sure what the reaction to this article may be. Senior Gabe Stowe has this to say on this dilemma: “There has to be some method to the madness or I feel like colleges wouldn’t just stop taking ACT scores.” This is a valid point, and maybe this article will prove the method to the madness. I talked to Mr. Joe Driehaus, one of the counselors here at Elder, and he has mixed feelings about this matter. Mr. Driehaus went into much detail about the various possibilities as to why a college would decide to go test optional instead of the traditional standardized testing admissions process. Obviously, standardized testing is not the only factor that gets one into college. Colleges factor in many other aspects, such as grades, recommendation letters, and several others. Mr. Driehaus talked to me about how the test prep business has grown and developed. Years ago, there was no such thing as test prep, so students just took the tests without any studying. Nowadays, there are so many test prep options, and the test prep business is a very large and lucrative business across the nation. Some students can blossom after test prep, and some don’t really improve. That’s just how it works. But if you decide to do test prep or not, colleges do not care. “If you take prep companies out of the equation, schools still will use the tests,” said Mr. Driehaus. As for the college or university itself, Mr. Driehaus says that the institution needs to decide what’s best for themselves. “The school has to decide as a whole what is going to be best for them,” said Mr. Driehaus on accounts of colleges’ decision making. He believes that the motivation of test optional schools could be to get a more diverse student body on campus. Whether it be diversity in economic barriers, social barriers, race or ethnicity, or academic barriers, the more diverse a campus is, the better it is for an institution. Also, there still is a purpose for standardized testing at test optional schools. Obviously, standardized testing can be used for scholarships and distinguishing purposes at a college, but the option to include standardized testing in an application also plays a factor for colleges. The average ACT score for a college could dramatically increase for schools who are test optional. You would think that students with a good ACT score would still submit their scores to a test optional school, and that students with a poor ACT score would not send their scores, so the average ACT score would probably increase, creating a better reputation for these schools. As for what we may see in the future out of most schools, Mr. Driehaus says that the current trend shows that test optional is becoming more and more popular. Who knows what it’ll be like in years to come. After talking to numerous students at Elder about this issue, I have concluded that this argument is one that really draws a line between students. I have witnessed some heated exchanges between students about if colleges should consider testing or not, and it really has been something to watch. I personally see both sides of this. If you aren’t a good test taker but get good grades, then test optional is a great route for you. If you’re a good test taker, then the traditional

The Purple Quill

The Purple Quill is published nine times per academic year by the students enrolled in the Journalism class at Elder High School. Content is determined by the staff and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Elder High School’s faculty, administration or student body. Signed editorials and columns reflect the views of the writer. Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged and must be signed, although anonymity can be granted on a case by case basis. The staff reviews letters to the editor, advertising and guest commentaries and reserves the right to edit and refuse material. Reasons can include length, clarity, libel, obscenity, material disruption of the educational process at Elder High School or violation of copyright laws.

“Give students the freedom of expression and soon everyone will want it.” Co-Editors in Chief: Mason Berger ‘20, Carmine Domenicone ‘20 Faculty Advisor Mr. Gary Rogers

Faculty Advisor Emeritus Mr. Edward Menkhaus ‘63

Graphics Guru Jack Langen ‘20

Staff Writers Mitchell Bareswilt ‘21 Joe Book ‘20 Jack Bruggeman ‘20 Jacob Cowans ‘20 Adam Duwel ‘21 Jackson Geiser ‘20 Jackson Grimmelsman ‘21 Connor Magness ‘20

Lukas Marlman ‘21 Thomas Peters ‘20 Chase Schaerer ‘20 Gus Schlomer ‘21 Nicholas Seger ‘20 Zach Thompson ‘21 Zack Williams ‘20


Monday September 30, 2019

Opinion 3

Mercy McCauley moves into second year Thomas Peters ‘20 Staff Writer

As the new school year swings around, not all west-side high schools are returning to

a familiar place. Hundreds of Mercy McCauley students are coming back to their second year in the new mixed environment. In order to learn more about how students are handling the merge, I sat down with Mercy McCauley’s student body co-president, Sophie Roeder. Sophie went to Mother of Mercy High School on Werk Road for her first two years. She has been involved in student council her entire high school career. Her increased involvement in the Mercy community made the news of her school’s abrupt closing very difficult: “At first it was very hard for my classmates and I to think about not coming back the next year, and lots of people, especially the juniors, were very upset.” As time went on, however, her and her classmates began to look forward. Sophie said that as a class they began to look for the positives in the merge, and thought about the situation with an open mind. Starting the first year at Mercy McCauley was strange for many students. It took Sophie and her classmates a long time to get used to the new building and a different atmosphere. “There were a lot of events that were new to us; they did a good job about honoring our legacy at Mercy, yet they pushed for putting the past behind us and moving on into the new school.” In the first year, the seniors were obviously the most apathetic about Mercy McCauley. Coming from three years at a different school, making the transition in their last year didn’t appeal to many. The class of 2020, however, does not plan to share their low-spirited attitude. After getting settled through their first year, the current seniors have risen up and taken a leadership role in their new home: “We stepped up as a class and rallied the underclassmen to support the new school.” The Wolves’ school pride has been noticed publicly, winning the Penn Station spirit award this fall. Students seem to love the new school, said Sophie. “Everyone is settled in and much more comfortable…sports teams are united, classes are enjoyable, and the faculty is always willing to help out, no matter what school you came from.” Obviously, things are going extremely well for Mercy McCauley and its students; everyone seems to have benefitted from the change. “I miss Mercy, but in the end, I don’t think I would go back. I wouldn’t have met the people I’ve met and I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved in activities that I ended up loving. Overall, the new school offers a lot more, including classes, sports, and other extra-curriculars,” said president Roeder. Mercy McCauley is turning into a success story for those involved, despite lots of initial dissent over the merger. Hopefully students continue to muster pride in their school, compelling grade-school students to see what Mercy McCauley has to offer. Perhaps those who stood against the schools combining will come to see that the Wolves love their new home. I wish the best of luck to Mercy McCauley in the coming years; I’m sure they will continue to excel and show the public that change is often for the better.

way is your way. I think that everyone should still take the ACT or SAT to be safe, but if you are set on going to a test optional school, then go with that. I’m confident that this topic could start World War III between some high school students, so I’ll end it here. Everyone has their take, so hash it out with each other. Please don’t ask me.

Is lunch in the Rudemiller Commons overrated? Jackson Geiser ‘20 Staff Writer

When the men of Elder become seniors, they are given the option of eating their lunch

in a designated area between the Schaeper Center and the main building called the Rudemiller Commons. This seems like a great opportunity to be with classmates and enjoy some nice weather while conversing and eating. Most people still stay in the cafeteria for lunch, though. The result of this has brought me to the question of whether lunch in the Rudemiller Commons is overrated or not. I got the chance to catch up with some of my classmates to see where they eat and where they stand on this question. I caught up with starting outside linebacker, Colton Sandhas, to see what his thoughts are on the matter. Colton stands on the side of eating inside. He enjoys the refreshing air conditioning. Colton says that he is a common lunch buyer. “It is faster to get food inside and you don’t have to walk as far.” There are also a lot more people to talk to he said. I agree with him on that part. In summary, he basically says that it is more convenient, comfortable, and more social then eating in the commons. “Eating in the RudemiCafeteria v. Commons. What’s your pick? (photoshop by Jackson Geiser ‘20)

ller Commons is overrated.” Colt made some great points about defending his position on the question, but fellow classmate Adam Rice defended the Commons. Adam Rice is a daily eater in the commons. Every time I am walking to my next class, I can expect to catch Adam chilling there. “There is nice weather to enjoy and there is good food to be eaten, it is a two in one deal.” He told me that it is an experience he has been waiting for since he was a freshman. “I feel superior with teachers trusting us out there.” It is safe to say that Adam is very passionate about the commons. There might be more reasons we will never hear of, but he definitely doesn’t like the idea of calling it overrated. Both of these students had some very vital information to share on this matter. Personally, I prefer to eat in the cafeteria, but I’m sure the Rudemiller Commons are enjoyable after hearing what Adam had to share. I decided to go eat out there one day with some of my friends to get some more insight about it. What I expected to experience was completely different. About ten minutes out there, students Cam Klenk and Michael McKeel decided to throw down in the grass. The friendly wrestling match was very entertaining, and it was something that I never believed I would witness during lunch hours. This experience leaves me split between the two places. The question of whether or not the Rudemiller Commons is the best place to eat lunch remains One byproduct of eating in the commons is that the unanswered. occasional scuffle will break out.


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Faculty Features

Monday September 30, 2019

Flaherty advances to lead the pack Connor Magness ‘20 Staff Writer

A big change came to Elder this past

winter, that some at Elder may not know or it has simply gone unnoticed. For well over 45 years Coach Spencer, or Mr. Spencer to his students coached the Elder Cross Country team. Until, this past year when a new man took over. That man is Mr. Brian Flaherty. Mr. Flaherty was named head cross-country coach this past winter, as was expected. From the moment he took over the reigns of head coach, he was ready to make big changes to the program. I got to catch up with Coach Flaherty and talk to him about the new job. “I was honored, and excited. It was the program I ran for in high school, and getting the job from Spencer, the coach I ran for was an honor,” Flaherty said when asked for his initial reaction when he got the job. After he received news that he aquired the job, Flaherty said that Spencer sent him a congratulations. But he has not

“Spencer helped me understand the different types of workouts, and how to handle certain types of situations and kids. He focused on the entire team not just the top seven. He always gave every single kid individual attention,”

seen him at any meets this season. Flaherty was an assistant under Spencer for many years, after his running career and coaching at a few other schools. “Spencer helped me understand the different types of workouts, and how to handle certain types of situations and kids. He focused on the entire team not just the top seven. He always gave every single kid individual attention,” Flaherty said. Coach Flaherty has changed a lot of things within the program this year, like incorporating lifting, as well as new stretches and different workouts. Flaherty said he would like to change some more things next year, and to meet with the coaches and evaluate the season and what needs to be changed. I also got to ask some of my teammates a couple questions on this year. There are some kids that aren’t a fan of the distance, and more fans of the speed and vice versa. But, I think this season people were caught by surprise with a lot of changes happening with the team and modernizing the program. Sophomore Aidan Murphy, said that things have gotten “a lot faster” in his words. I can agree with this, although I’m a fan of the speed. Junior Luke Faecher agreed with Murph, also saying that he has liked the lifting that has been incorporated as well as the new stretching. Something I also concurred with Luke about is the fact that our schedule is way more competitive, letting us get a look at all the teams we will face at regionals beforehand. At the end of the day, a new day has dawned upon the Elder Cross Country, and as a runner for Coach Flaherty, I have very high hopes for the end of this season.

New cross-country coach Brian Flaherty’s goal is to get the team ready for a post season run to State and the dividends of some new training techniques are already evident with a recent win a Cedarville.

He has done more than an excellent job getting us ready for the end of the season. The goal for this season is to place at State; the team hasn’t been there for the past nine years. But, there is just something different in the air. If you were to ask Coach Flaherty where he thinks this team is going he’ll say the team is going to State.

Flaherty is a great coach, and an even better person. You notice him all over the school with his enthusiasm, but also his care to help every student. All I will say is this, Elder High School, get ready for the Cross-Country team to make a run for years to come behind Flaherty.


Monday September 30, 2019

Student Features 5

Best bromances at Elder Nicholas Seger ‘20 Staff Writer

Some of the best friendships in one’s

life can be with one of the boys. These relationships between two really good guy friends are often referred to as “bromances.” Honestly, these friendships can be something every guy needs. Here at Elder, we have several notable bromances:

Jonathan Paff and Joe Weber

These two are simply dangerous together. If they spot a weakness of yours, they will attack. You are the prey, and they are the predators. You do not want to have a Paff and Weber combo coming after you. The easiest way to avoid this two-headed monster is to turn them on each other. All jokes aside, I caught up with the two of them and gathered their thoughts on the relationship: “I would consider our relationship a bromance.

He’s [Paff] my dog, as in bulldog,” said Weber. “We have known each other since first grade, and the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew it was going to be something special.”

This relationship has been growing for almost twelve years now, and it seems as if it will last for many years to come. Paff considers it a bromance with the exception of when the two are battling in NBA 2k20 or NCAA Football 14. When asked about the outcome of these games, Paff was quick to mention his superiority in both games. I have personally witnessed several of these gritty exhibitions. Each game is a battle for the ages. Last, I asked what the two of them like to do together outside of school and video games. The combo said they like to wreak havoc on the westside of Cincinnati. You can pretty much guarantee these two will be starting up some mayhem wherever they go.

played the Vipers.” I can vouch for Sheen on this because I played Dugan and his Blackhawks too. Apart from this, the two have always gotten along, and it seems it will stay this way for as long as they are friends.

Jake Byrne and Carmine Domenicone

Their friendship is one of several that deserves to be recognized. These two dogs are always seen together and almost inseparable. Personally, I am a big fan of this friendship and want it to last in the long run. However, I take Materials Science with Jake and Carm, and this is quite the hassle. They make it almost impossible to finish any lab. Their constant chatter and shenanigans are insufferable. Nonetheless, I had the chance to interview

Zack Williams and Zach Dugan

These two have a textbook friendship. They never disagree on anything and share the same interests. Also, they have the same sense of humor and opinion on just about everything, according to Sheen (Zack Williams) himself. Although everyone can see this bromance, Dugan does not see it this way: “I wouldn’t call our friendship a bromance. It’s more of just two boys trying to make it in the world.” I am not too sure what this means, but I like it a lot. Sheen and Dugan met freshman year through sports, specifically football. The two of them played wide receiver together, and I believe they were highly under-used on our roster. Previous to their friendship, Sheen strongly voiced his negative opinion on Dugan: “I hated the kid. He acted like a little boy on the basketball court. He was a boy among men when he

these two and ask them some questions about their relationship. Jake denied the “bromance” title, but Carm was far more welcoming towards it: “I’ll say what Jake is afraid to admit, this relationship is a bromance.” When asked what he calls this relationship, Jake said, “I would not call it a bromance. It is more of just two pals who enjoy each other’s company and thoroughly enjoy consuming Chipotle together.” This sounds to me like quite the

bromance, and I wish I had someone to frequently enjoy a burrito with. The root of this relationship goes back to a rivalry between the two in grade school. The two were known to have quite the battle on the basketball court. “I hated Carm because he was soft on the court,” said Jake. Carm had a different outlook on this: “Jake knew the Jaguars were a threat every time we stepped on the court, and I think that is where his hatred stems from. Also, I never hated him. I prefer to take the high-road and say I always respected his game immensely.” Carm did not hate Jake in grade school, but he did have a very interesting theory about the kid. For those of you who don’t know, Jake was known to have a scar on his nose up until about sixth grade. I personally have no idea where this came from or why it was there, so I asked Carm where he thought the scar came from. He replied, “Everyone called this kid ‘Byrnie,’ so I always assumed the scar was from a fire burn.” This sounds like a far-fetched theory, but a fire may very well be the cause of this nose scar for all I know. In the end, these two love to bust each other’s chops about their “nose scars” and softness, but they have a great friendship and wish the best for each other.


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Wall (continued from front page)

are always on the yard and their schedule is packed. When asked about the transition from Elder to the Navy he said, “The transition is insane, but in my case, it has its similarities to Elder. The comradery is like no other, everyone here is a family. You push yourself in everything you do here. Complacency doesn’t exist. We strive for the higher things every day. Altiora forever.” Due to a busy schedule and a high standard of academics, Wall told me that he does not have much free time at all. He said on Saturdays he’ll usually get lunch with his boys and then go hang out and nap at his sponsor, Thomas Sander’s (Elder grad) house. He also added that he’s been in contact with football coach, P.J. Volker (Elder grad). Although his free-time is scarce, he has got involved with a few different clubs and sports this past summer. “For some unknown reason, I boxed over plebe summer. I found that getting the crap beat out of me and beating the crap out of others made it easier to cope with all the emotions of plebe summer. However, I lost so many brain cells that now I play rugby, which isn’t any safer than boxing in terms of losing brain cells. I know it’s random, but it’s the best group of guys at the Academy and an amazing sport. They call it ‘elegant violence’ and I’m having the time of my life while in constant fear of getting crushed by a 200+ pound unit and possibly losing my life,” explained the onion himself. Indulging in these different activities has clearly seemed to make life more interesting and a created a nice separation from the everyday tasks of training and school work. As mentioned before, Elder sent five other students off to some sort of military assignment along with Wall. I asked him if he’d been in contact with any of them since arriving on campus this summer. He said, “I haven’t been in touch with Schutte or Allison, but I’ve caught up with Brad Gamereth and I talk to Tim Finley all the time when I can.” He told me that Tim has been one of his best buddies from high school and can often go to him when times get tough, as they are both experiencing some of the same difficulties at their own academies. He said, “He’s my go to guy whenever I’m losing my cool and I’m the same for him.” Obviously Elder High School is not an easy place to walk away from, especially moving nearly nine hours away from the place you call home. However, the students, faculty, and alumni never forget the people that once walked the halls of this very building. Gunnar told me that he misses his family, friends, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the entire Elder community most. Freshmen Grady Wall, brother of Gunnar shared, “I never really knew how much Gunnar meant to me until he left. I miss all of the times that we would fight after I beat him in Madden or 2k.” He finished by saying, “Gunnar really was a great role model for me and I couldn’t be more proud of him.” Senior Willard Cluxton, cousin of Wall, expressed his sentiments saying, “We are very proud of what he’s accomplished but feel like a part of the family is missing while he is away. All we can do is encourage him because he is doing what he loves and serving our great country.” With that being said, all of us here at Elder High School extend our praise and thanks to Gunnar and the five others that have gone off to serve our country for the better. Altiora!

Student Features

Finley (continued from front page)

traditions and restaurants, such as Skyline Chili. “My mom brought Skyline Chili to me for parents’ weekend, and it made my day,” he said. A lot of my friends and family have always told me about all of the free time they got in college, so I decided to ask Tim about what he does with his spare time. “I wish there was free time. Everyday I have a daily routine of classes, football, homework and sleep with a few things in between. If I ever have free time I spend it doing homework or studying,” Tim replied. This is a prime example of how dedicated one has to be to serve his or her country. With the exception of a few rare occasions, Tim has almost no time to just sit back and relax. His Academy specifically designs this tight schedule because it keeps the students focused on what they are there to do: succeed in school and eventually serve their country. Although Tim has a crazy busy schedule, he still does his best to stay in touch with his high school friends. He did mention the difficulty with this though because everyone is on their own schedule which is completely different from his schedule. He also talked about a group of his closest friends that are always calling and checking up on him and said they “will just pick me up on my rough days.” I even got the chance to interview two of his closest friends, Aidan Byrne and my brother, Steven Seger. When asked what Tim has shared with him about the Academy, Byrne responded, “I have been in touch day to day since he received his phone privileges. Life there, as he explained to me, sounds like complete hell. From going to bed at midnight to the 4:30 wake up calls takes a special person.” I also asked the two how much of an inspiration Tim has been to them. Steven said, “I am so happy for him, and I consider myself lucky to know a guy like Tim. I couldn’t think of another person as gritty as Tim. He is one of the toughest dudes I know. He’s built for this, and I know he will do great.” Similarly, Byrne said, “Tim (Fams) Finley has been an inspiration to me since the day I met him, and I’m sure he has inspired his family and other friends, especially through these last couple of months.” These are just two of the many people Tim has impacted throughout his life and with his decision to attend the Merchant Marine Academy. Gunnar Wall, one of Tim’s closest friends, is currently at the Naval Academy. A lot of his experience has been similar to that of Tim’s, so I asked Tim if they are still in contact, and Tim replied, “We talk a few times each week and push each other through the challenges since we can relate because of similar activities and struggles.” Having someone to lean on is very important in any person’s life, especially someone who is going through has much as these two are. The most important thing about this whole experience is what Tim thinks about it. He misses many things from his home, yet this does not mean he regrets any of it. When asked about his thoughts on the experience, Tim said, “I believe I am on a good track and just have to continue to strive for success.” We all believe in you Tim, and your perseverance and sacrifice are truly inspirations for everyone. He also mentioned that he loves to hear from anyone who reaches out. A simple text or letter giving encouragement or checking in on him can make his day. You can send him one of these through his Facebook or mailing address (below). Everyone here is rooting for you no matter what happens. Keep up the good work and continue to make us proud. Altiora. Timothy Finley 300 Steamboat Road PO Box 764 Kings Point, NY 11024

Monday September 30, 2019

Like parent, like son? Jack Bruggeman ‘20 Staff Writer

Most Elder students leave their house

in the morning to go to school, and once they are at Elder, they are away from both of their parents for the rest of the day. But that is not the daily life for all students. There are some students at Elder who have family members who work here at school. For three particular students, their parents work where they attend high school. Obviously, each Elder man has a different relationship with his parents, but is that relationship made better or worse because his parent works at the school?

The Bills

Nathan Bill’s father, Brian, is the Alumni Director at Elder. Even though they have a good relationship, Nathan says that he was slightly embarrassed when he first came to Elder because of how much Mr. Bill goes on the announcements for events such as The Walk for Others. Now he’s used to it. However, Nathan still gets embarrassed sometimes when Mr. Bill goes on ENN and says stuff such as “What’s up guys, it’s your boy, Mr. Bill. Back at it again with the walk.” Overall, Nathan finds it convenient that he can occasionally use his dad’s parking spot because it is “a lot closer.” Nathan also enjoys “sharing the high school experience” with his dad.


Monday September 30,, 2019

The Schlomers

Mr. Michael Schlomer, a math teacher at Elder is the father of junior, Gus. Gus admits that, if his father were not a teacher at Elder, he might not have come to school here. Gus also said that he “had [Mr. Schlomer] switch up his classes so [Gus] wouldn’t have him as a teacher.” Although Gus recalled that it embarrassed him when his dad saw him in the hallway on his first day at Elder and said, “Hey, buddy,” he appreciates that his dad now respects his boundaries while at school. Gus jokingly said that his father is most useful when he needs a permission form signed that he forgot about or when he needs money because his dad is “an instant ATM.”

The Tuttles

Will Tuttle, an Elder senior, is the only student I interviewed who actually had his parent as a teacher. Before she worked at Elder, Will had his mom, Tara

Student Features 7 Tuttle, as a teacher in seventh and eighth grade at St. William. He believes that “she was a great teacher. She was even some people’s favorite.” Nevertheless, Will says that the embarrassment from his mom “doesn’t stop.” Will did not want to go into specifics, but he said that his favorite memory of his mother at Elder was when she told Spencer Bono to “put down a freshman because he was scared of Bono.” Overall, it seems like these students do not mind that their parents are at Elder with them. In fact, most of the time, they see the advantages of having their parent work at the school. Whether they decided that they “wanted to go to Elder since [they] were two” like Nathan or chose Elder “because it’s a family tradition” like Will, they are all enjoying their Elder experiences with their parents.

The life of Dutch Zack Williams ‘20 Staff Writer

Have you ever known a kid who is very

quiet in school? Have you ever wondered why they are shy, and quiet all day? Did you know that these types of kids are the most interesting? It’s possible that if you get to know them they might just end up being your best friend. Jack Yungbluth is a senior at Elder High School. He goes by the nickname Dutch, and that’s how the majority of Elder knows him. He is a very quiet, soft spoken fella if you are not close with him. If you are friends with Dutch you know that he is one of the nicest, funniest kids you will ever meet. Due to how quiet he is, he is kind of slept on here at Elder, but I wanted to change that. He is involved at Elder, and has a pretty cool story, in and out of school. He is a quiet kid in school, but outside of school he is active, and has a lot of fun. Now onto Jack’s Elder experience. His four year have flown by so fast, but he enjoyed the heck out of every year. For Dutch, it was a very slow beginning at Elder transitioning to a new environment, and figuring out high school. After the first year of figuring things out, it went quick and good from there. Some of Jack’s favorite moments throughout high school consist of hanging out with friends on the weekends, Friday night football games in the Pit, Elderfest, Mark Klusman Day of Service, Walk for Others, and receiving solid grades! Dutch then said, “I really do not have any lows at Elder besides the one time I failed absolutely miserably at growing my

hair out.” Elder interests Jack overall and he never really had any complaints. This is where Jack gets interesting. Jack is a very unique and interesting kid outside of school. He loves to listen to classic rock, and to play guitar. He works in the bag room at Western Hills Country Club and loves to play golf with any free time he Dutch Yungbluth has. It’s almost like he was born in the 80’s but lives in this generation. Although Jack has tried several things at Elder such as guitar club, track, football, golf, wrestling manager, and lacrosse, he really is not heavily involved. He said “that’s my only regret, and I want that to change, I want to try new things.” He then said, “I am not the greatest at athletics”, and he couldn’t find any clubs that interested him. Dutch is a sneaky athletic type of kid. He is not so good at fantasy football, but he is the best Madden player I have ever seen in my life. Hope you all enjoyed learning more about Jack’s life, and got to know him better. So if you know someone who is very quiet and shy, take the time to get to know them and you may find a friend for life.


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Sports

Monday September 30, 2019

Gillis vaults his way onto varsity Leaders for the ’19-20 Heisman Connor Magness ‘20 Staff Writer

Jackson Grimmelsman ‘21 Staff Writer

vaulters in the recent years. A couple names to spitball would be Casey Dirr, Adam Klaesner, and quite possibly one of the best pole vaulters to ever go through Elder, Robby Oswald. But, none of those names can compare to the likes of the newest varsity vaulter. That man’s name is Sam Gillis. Fortunately, I got to sit down with Sam and ask him a few questions. The first thing I asked Sam was how he got into track in the first place “(Mr.) Quatman had mentioned something to me while I was somewhat considering it, but he helped me win over doing track and field,” Gillis said. Sam was a stellar sprinter in his first year of track, but never really found his calling out on the track. But rather, he felt at home with the pole vaulting squad. Sam started pole vaulting last year as a junior with Casey Dirr being around to show him the ropes. Sam said that Casey was a great mentor and an even better coach, he said that he and Casey would practice everyday together and would go over to Coach Kristof’s on Sunday to jump. With track season right around the corner, Sam is getting ready to gear up, I asked him what some of his preparations for this upcoming season were. “I’m going to start jumping under the Pit come December. I have to work on my back and stability.” Sam said that he has some big goals this year, and when I went on to ask him it was left pretty simple. “Win GCL, my previous PR was 10 feet and I would like to break that easily this year,” Sam said. The last thing that I think everyone wants to know from Sam was what does he do before he jumps? Gillis said that he usually eats the food he packed, usually comprised of almonds, Gatorade, tuna, and the must have orange, as well as taking a few laps around the track with Ben Eisenman, the future of Elder pole vaulting.

is given to the best and most electrifying college football player in the country. The voting for the award comes from 929 selected people across the country. The award has been handed out a total of 84 times since its creation in 1935. Only one collegiate player has won the award twice and that was Ohio State’s very own Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975. This college football season, there are some electrifying players in the nation. Some who can win the award outright, or can make it a good race for the award. According to Bleacher Report, the top candidates to win the award for the 2019 season are Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovolia, Sam Ehlinger, and Jonathan Taylor.

Elder has a plethora of great pole

The Heisman Trophy is an award that

Sam Gillis showing off his lightning speed, which will be moving to the field events next year.

Gillis has a lot of people on notice for what he can bring to the table, I caught up with coach Quatman to ask him a few things, I wanted to know how far he is expecting Gillis to jump this year. “He should be above 13 feet easily,” Quatman said. I then asked him how far he thinks Gillis should go in the postseason, and Quatman said he should go to State with ease. Although he’s on Coach Quatman’s watchlist, he’s got other students and fellow teammates on watch as well. Senior AJ Dearing contributed a few comments as well. “I’m expecting nothing less than a first place medal at GCL,” Dearing said. Dearing then went on to say that he’s bringing “the fire” to the pole vault pit this year. It’s easy to see that everyone has a lot of faith in Gillis, and as a teammate, I believe in the hype. There’s good reason to believe, Gillis is a hardworking kid that won’t quit. All I know is that, everyone in the GCL this year has to look out, because Gillis is coming. He may have worked behind the scenes last year, but he’s the star of the show this coming season.

The best running back in the NFL

Chase Schaerer ‘20 Staff Writer

Football has begun, and with it the

discussions for whose team will win, or which player is better than another. However, recently one football discussion has become more prevalent than others: Which NFL running back is the best? This discussion has occurred between fans and professionals alike, and for the most part it cannot be proven who really is the best. There are many factors in what it takes to be the best. It cannot solely be decide based on who has the most rushing yards with the most touchdowns. Some of the league’s best running backs are Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara,

Ezekiel Elliot, and Christian McCaffery, but everyone has their own opinion on who is the best. After his first regular season game of the 2019 season Adam Thielen talked about Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, when he said, “We know that running the ball is the strength of our team. We know that we have one of the best running backs in the NFL, if not the best.” Other running backs have foregone the claims from teammates and claimed themselves as the best. Giants running back Saquon Barkley responded to Zeke saying he’s the best with, “I’m happy he said that,” said Barkley in an interview. “He believes he’s the best, I believe I’m the best. You ask Todd Gurley, he’s going

4. Trevor Lawrence

Trevor Lawrence is going into his sophomore season with a career where he won the National Championship without losing a game in his freshman season. Standing at 6’-6”, Lawrence is easily one of the top candidates to win the award. Lawrence was ranked the top high school player in the class of 2018. With the clear offensive power from the Tigers last year, their offense should have the same talents again “Certainty, their offense firepower is amazing,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. It would almost be an upset if Lawrence didn’t have a Heisman in him, and his freshman season really couldn’t have gone any better. With all the immense ability around him in the Tigers’ talented youngsters, they’ll all grow together. Lawrence will benefit from Dabo Swinney’s recruiting ability, and he’ll be the guy who makes it all tick. It’s not out of the realm of possibility he puts everything together in ‘19 and wins the Heisman Trophy.

3. Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor has been one of the best Running backs in college football for the past couple of seasons. Last season, Taylor was awarded with the Doak Walker to believe he’s the best. That’s how it should be.” For all those who believe that “numbers don’t lie,” Ezekiel Elliot lead the league in rushing yards in the 2018 season with a total of 1,424 yards in 15 games with Saquon Barkley coming in second with 1,307 yards in 16 games. However, Barkley led the league in most all-purpose yards (2,028) with Elliot (2,001) just behind him. However, some people believe that neither Zeke nor Saquon deserves the title of the best running back in the NFL. When asked his opinion, Elder senior and self-proclaimed sports guru Kevin Heckman said, “I’d say Christian McCaffery. Name a more dual-threat running back in the NFL right now…I’ll wait.” Backing up what Kevin said, McCaffrey’s stats from the 2018 season are 1,098 rushing yards and 867 receiving yards. This puts him just behind Zeke with 1,965 all purpose yards for 2018. However, he has already jumped ahead of both running backs with the most all-purpose and rushing yards for week one of the 2019 regular season. While people can go on and on arguing and discussing who they believe is the best running back in the NFL, there can never really be a set answer. Everyone has their own criteria for what, in their opinion, makes a running back the best, but we can still enjoy discussing it.

award, which is given to the nation’s top running back. With 3,966 career rushing yards, Taylor has more than any other FBS player through his sophomore year. He shattered 1999 Heisman Trophy winner and Wisconsin alum Ron Dayne’s record of 3,566. “I think I’ve gotten better from last year, especially as far as patience and letting blocks develop,” Taylor told the Wisconsin State Journal’s Jason Galloway. “Sometimes I could be a little quick last year and just take off and not really let them develop. So, I feel like I’ve slowed it down a bit this year and improved in that area.” This year he’ll get the national attention it takes to win the Heisman. He may bring it home for the running backs once again.

2. Sam Ehlinger

Sam Ehlinger wasn’t even the guaranteed full-time starter heading into his second season in Austin, but he eclipsed Shane Buechele’s shadow and wound up not only starting but starring for the Longhorns. When Texas fell just short of beating Oklahoma for the second time, as the Sooners won the conference title, Ehlinger didn’t pout. Instead, he issued a very Tim Tebow-esque proclamation, “I will make it my mission to never let this team or this school feel this disappointment again,” Ehlinger said. Ehlinger is a do-it-all player who can beat teams with his arm and his feet. With Herman calling plays, it’s only going to get better for the ‘Horns as they continue to improve their arsenal of offensive weapons. If they rule the conference, it’ll be because of Ehlinger’s leadership and ability. The Heisman may wear burnt orange again.

1. Tua Tagovailoa

Tua Tagovailoa started his collegiate career by replacing Jalen Hurts in the National championship game in the second half to comeback and beat Georgia to win the 2018 National Championship. Last year, Tua Tagovailoa may have fallen just shy of winning the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore at Alabama, but there is no reason to believe he won’t be right in the thick of the race again in 2019. Late in the year, however, he battled injuries that kept him from finishing some games, and as the Tide came back to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, Tagovailoa stood on the sideline as backup (and former starter) Jalen Hurts was the hero. That may have been the game that sealed his fate as the runner-up. He had to return to Tuscaloosa at least one more season, and 2019 looks like it could be his year to win college football’s top individual honor if he can remain healthy and keep maturing. It could be another big year at the Capstone.


Monday September 30, 2019

Mason Berger ‘20 Co-Editor in Chief

There’s arguably no greater sports season than that of college football. Upsets, tailgates, Lee Corso, everything that college football has to offer is awesome. The addition of the College Football Playoff only makes this season better, too. The playoff is still a pretty recent addition to college football, being only in its sixth year of existence. Even in its short history, there have been a plethora of different participants. However, we are yet to see a team that is not from one of the “Power Five” conferences in the playoff. The Power 5 conferences are the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, and PAC 12. Notre Dame is the lone team to not be in one of these conferences to make the playoff, but they are by no means a non-Power 5 school. We’ve all seen the continued dominance of both Alabama and Clemson, playing against each other the past four seasons. The same few teams are always in contention. At the end of the day, we all pretty much know who will be fighting for spots at the end of the year. Schools that are not a part of the previous listed conferences are also known as the “Group of Five” (Go5). This consists of schools from the American Conference, Conference USA, the Mountain West, MAC, and Sun Belt conferences. If I’m being honest, I don’t really think any of these teams have any shot at making the playoff, considering how it is

currently structured. It is very hard for one of these teams, who don’t play as tough of schedules and don’t have as good as talent (in some cases) as the Power Five schools, to get into the playoff. College football connoisseur Joe Weber had this to say about the Go5 teams: “They do not play a hard enough schedule and they will never have enough talent to compete with the big dogs.” I’m not saying it’s impossible. Anything can happen. Our beloved Bearcats would’ve been in prime position in making a run to the playoff if they would’ve upset Ohio State in week two of the season. They still would’ve had to go undefeated the whole year, but it was reasonable, and still might be. I don’t really know. UCF has been very vocal in the past few seasons about their treatment by the playoff selection committee. They crowned themselves as National Champions in 2018 after going 13-0 and defeating Auburn in the Peach Bowl, despite Alabama actually winning the College Football Playoff, which is the National Championship. I personally hated seeing this. Like shut up, you did not win the National Championship. Everybody except for UCF knows that. C’mon guys, you’re better than that. Anyway, while UCF was a very good team that year, there was no way that they could’ve made it to the playoff because of the prominence and dominance of the

Faculty’s unique NFL favorites Zack Williams ‘20 Staff Writer

The NFL has 32 teams total in the entire

league. The teams are all different in their own unique way, and they all attack the game differently. Obliviously the most liked team in the NFL in this area is the Cincinnati Bengals. Everyone likes, and cheers for their hometown team right. Well, mostly everyone does! I spoke with some members of the Elder High School faculty about their favorite NFL teams. These teachers are not your typical Bengals fans like everyone else. They have their own unique teams they like and cheer for during the season. Don’t hate them for their love of other teams besides the Bengals because they all have their reasons. I started by speaking with Coach Eisele. Mr. Eisele stated how he really wasn’t much of an NFL guy, which I clearly understand because I’m not much of an NFL fan myself. He said then said, “I really have never had any interest in the Bengals, but I do like teams that our graduates are on, such as the Vikings with Kyle Rudolph, and the Bills when Eric Wood was a member of their team, and also the Rams with Jake McQuaide. He said if he had to pick one, it would be the Raiders because they are a hard-nosed team. I then had a quick interesting chat with Mr. Horton. Mr. Horton likes seeing the Bengals win, but his team is the Green Bay Packers. His story for liking the Packers is pretty cool. He grew up in Columbus, and played little league football there. His team name for that club team was always the Green Bay Packers, and he hasn’t stopped loving them since. My next unique team liking teacher is Coach James. If you do not know, your about to know Coach James’ dark secret.

Potential Go5 schools that could contend in the future.

teams that were in ahead of them; all of who were Power 5 teams. Their strength of schedule was not nearly as good as the teams that were in it, so logistically, it made no sense to put a team like UCF in it. The only foreseeable solution to this problem would be to expand the playoff to eight teams, where the top eight teams make the playoff. Therefore, this would open up a whole new world for Go5 teams. For example, UCF finished in the #6 slot in 2018, which under the eightteam playoff, would’ve gotten them in. An eight-team playoff is the only pos-

Brown could be first NFL player to have his jersey burned by two fan bases in the same year Gus Schlomer ‘21 Staff Writer

Antonio Brown; football player, acro-

He is a Pittsburg Steelers guy, gross right, but I respect it. His liking for the Steelers is due to his Uncle, Dan James, who played there back in the 60’s. He said, “I really never liked the Bengals, and I openly cheer for the Pittsburg Steelers.” I then spoke with Mr. Boeing. He does not hate the Bengals, but his team is the New Orleans Saints. His reasoning was short, and simple. He said, “I like Drew Brees.” I then talked to Coach Roush. He is a Cleveland Browns guy. I don’t really understand how anyone can like this team, but hey who knows maybe this is their year. His reasoning for liking the Browns is due to growing up there which is understandable. Lastly, I chatted with Mr. Rogers. He could care less for the Bengals because they haven’t been good in so long. He said, “I love watching creative offenses.” His favorite team therefore is the Kansas City Chiefs and he enjoys the way quarterback Pat Mahomes slings it within Andy Reid’s playbook. That sums up all the unique likings of NFL teams from your Elder High School faculty!

sible scenario where these teams would be let in the playoff, which would bring the diversity to the playoff that college football needs. While the same teams that have been in it are great, it would be best for fans if they could see some sort of an underdog take on Alabama or Clemson when it matters most. While it looks unlikely for Go5 schools to be represented in the playoff, it could happen. I guess anything is possible in college football. For all I know, college football could be changed completely in the near future, so why not change up the playoff for the better? These teams are what we need in the playoff.

batic catch maker, one of the greatest to play at wide receiver, and now he is hated by two fanbases so strongly that they are burning his jerseys to smithereens. All this is happening even as the NFL is investigating how he signed with the New England Patriots so quickly after being released by the Oakland Raiders. On September 9, Antonio Brown was released from the Oakland Raiders per request after not showing up to training camp, pre-season games, and practices. Within two hours of his release by Oakland, the New England Patriots signed the Pro Bowl wide out for $15 Million and a $9 Million signing bonus. He had to sit out the Patriots home and season opener. Raiders’ fans expected to be seeing him in black and silver and to see a glimpse of their new toy but it was all taken by Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Robert Kraft. What comes with being a horrible person and player in a professional organization will have major repercussions. Not only were the Pittsburgh Steelers fans burning and scorching their Antonio Brown jerseys but now the city of Oakland can only do the same; Burn the hell out of those jerseys in a parking lot with all the other Raiders fans at the tailgate. United Soccer League (USL) team Las Vegas Lights FC has jumped on the band wagon and decided to make a horrible but funny promotion as they always do about this debacle. “#84 (cold feet emoji) left the Raiders… Now it’s 84 percent off our ticket prices in this FIRE sale for Wednesday’s game.” Back to the Patriots. There is no way

taken from the ringer.com

Will Go5 teams ever see the playoff?

photo montage by Mason Berger ‘20

Sports 9

that the Pats would shell out that kind of money for a 31-year-old wide receiver with a misunderstanding on how to act like an adult and take responsibility. That would mean that the Pats would have been talking to Brown on the side during this time period. That is against the rules in the NFL to prevent creating super teams and for teams to have player security on their rosters. Nothing will happen to the Patriots because there is no evidence in that this actually happened but if any other franchise in the league tried to pull this off they would face a heavy fine from Uncle Roger (Goodell). Brown may break his previous record of franchise fans burning their jerseys because the New England Patriot fans may join in. As of September 11, Brown has been accused of raping his trainer. “According to the suit, Brown sexually assaulted Taylor twice during training sessions in June 2017. PRESS UPDATE: As of press time, Brown has been released by the Patriots after scoring one touchdown vs. the Dophins. The player has re-enrolled at Western Michigan to take classes.


10

Sports

Monday September 30, 2019

Trainers work hard to get athletes back in the action Lukas Marlman ‘21 Staff Writer

An athletic trainer works to prevent

athletes from encountering injury and related medical conditions during sports and physical activity. Well, as most of you know Elder has our own athletic trainers including, Mr. Jeffrey Fitz, Mr. Nathaniel Herdeman, and the occasional intern. To find Fitz or Nathan you will either have to get injured playing a sport or just visit them down in their office. Their office is in the bottom of the field house by the football locker room, and you’ll know when you’re there when you see the almighty Fitz.

Nathan has been an athletic trainer since May of 2018, and attended Mount St. Joseph University. Nathan is also an Elder graduate (class of ‘14) and that’s why he chose the great Elder High. When asked if he saw himself moving onto a bigger program Nathan responded with, “I don’t see anything changing anytime soon.” Elder High school is Nathan’s first program as a certified athletic trainer and he’s already got the hang of things.

Being an athletic trainer for any level isn’t easy since they have to work with all sports, but at Elder things can and will get hectic from time to time. Since the athletic training room is so small it makes things difficult to deal with when there is an influx of players needing things before games or before practices. But to become a great athletic trainer you need to be efficient while doing things right. Nathan arrives at Elder around 1:30 ish, while Fitz gets to Elder at 1pm, give or take a couple minutes. Fitz also meets with the nurse and sometimes with Mr. Espelage to get caught up on things like if a student is absent (who was scheduled to come in and do therapy for an injury). They stay at Elder until around 7 o’clock on nongame days, while on gamedays they get to leave anywhere from 10-12 at night depending on the sport.

A career as an athletic trainer requires completion of an accredited athletic trainer degree program as well as licensure or certification, which can take from two to four years. Fitz has been an athletic trainer for 34 years and he attended Penn State University in Pennsylvania. Fitz worked for Tri-Health and they him stationed at Wyoming High School, Seven Hills, Mount St. Joseph University, and Elder. Fitz has been at Elder for 15 years and was here when Tri-Health had the athletic contract (now it’s Mercy Health). Fitz is also known on the football field as coach Fitz because he gives us some interesting facts and helps us repeatedly. Holden Nichols ( ‘21) always says, “There’s coach Fitz.” Holden is always happy when he seeing Fitz walking down during football practice. While a new intern comes to Elder every so often, Nathan is the newest addition to the athletic training staff.

When asked why he wanted to become an athletic trainer Nathan replied, “I always wanted to work with sports from a medical stance.” While Fitz said, “I didn’t like being inside all day at my engineering job and when I saw a player return to play after an mcl sprain, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” Fitz started out as an engineering student but he also worked a steady job in health and physical education. And that’s where he saw a player who had an mcl sprain return to his sport.

What does it take to be an trainer at Elder?

Fitz’s Background

Nathan’s Background

What made you become a trainer?

Nathan Herdeman (‘14) gets ready for another hard day’s work preparing for football practice. (photo by Lukas Marlman ‘21)

Pros and Cons

Like what Nivedita Sharma said, “Nothing is perfect in this world, everything has its pros and cons.” Being an ath-

letic trainer is no exception. When asked about the best part of his job Fitz answered, “The relationships you make with the players and seeing them prevail over an injury.” Nathan had a similar answer saying, “Seeing the kids who got hurt return to play.” Some injuries can take over a year to recover from while others only take a few days, but in any case, both agree that seeing the player return to play is rewarding. While injuries are a con towards any sports players there are completely different cons about being an athletic trainer. Nathan told me, “The worst part about my job is when people aren’t grateful for all we do to help them, or having to be the water boy for the day.” (and I know firsthand about being the water boy thanks to a concussion.) Many people forget to say thank you after they get taped or evaluated about an injury, but just the simple word of ‘thanks’ or ‘thank you’ can change the mood of a person’s day for the better. While people being unappreciative is a big con, having the schedule change on you without knowing can be even more frustrating. Fitz said, “The worst part about my job is when the schedule changes without me knowing.” This can lead to people being in the wrong place. Even though pros and cons have an effect on a person’s decisions, Fitz and Nathan still became athletic trainers.

Prep Work

There is a lot of prep work that goes in with being an athletic trainer. From getting water jugs full to making sure all the medical supplies are ready to go, Fitz and Nathan constantly have prep work that


Monday September 30, 2019

Meyer leads in the weight room Lukas Marlman ‘21 Staff Writer

Leaders in the weight room are import-

Head trainer Jeff Fitz (photo by Lukas Marlman ‘21)

needs to get done. Both Fitz and Nathan said that football has the most prep work because they need to make sure that the medical supplies are on the bus for away games and that every player who needs to be taped is done. There are too many things that they need to do for football to list. However, Fitz and Nathan didn’t become athletic trainers to do a bunch of prepping they became athletic trainers to help others. And they fulfill that with the great job they are doing each and every day.

A word from Fitz himself

Fitz mentioned to me that he is willing to help anyone who wants to become an athletic trainer themselves. So, if you have the idea about becoming an athletic trainer you are welcome to go ask Fitz all about the job and what it takes. You know where to find him, and if not, refer back to the first paragraph of this article.

ant because they push people to do their best, and they make sure they stay on track. This is what Patrick Meyer does every day for every sport at Elder. Being a strength and conditioning coach isn’t easy, it takes a special type of person. A lot of students know him as Coach Meyer or PJ, but not many know where he came from or what he did before coming to Elder High School. Meyer has been a strength and conditioning coach since last May (over a year), and is an Elder graduate from class of 2014. Originally Meyer wanted to become an athletic trainer but after two days of those classes Meyer chose to change what he wanted to do. Meyer then decided to become a strength and conditioning coach, but he still had the same teachers he had for those two days for athletic trainer classes. Meyer earned his degree in exercise science and a minor in coaching, Meyer said, “If you ever meet a strength and conditioning coach who doesn’t have a degree in exercise science then you better run the other way.” Meyer came to Elder for two reasons; one, he came here because he is a graduate and since Elder has sports and a weight room he came here to give back to Elder. Two, after college (Wilmington college) he couldn’t find a job so he asked Coach Rankin if he could help him out. Luckily

enough there was an opening for an asst. strength and conditioning coach here at Elder. Coach Meyer attended Wilmington College and he played football as a wide receiver. Meyer didn’t play football at Elder because he said, “I didn’t want to work for things and I didn’t like to be coached up, back then. I changed because I saw myself going down the wrong path.” During his four years at Wilmington Meyer racked up a total of 1390 yards, 15 touchdowns, and a total of 36 games played. Meyer played pretty well considering he didn’t play in high school, and Meyer was number 83 if you were wondering. Shortly after Coach Meyer started working at Elder, football started up and coach James asked Meyer to coach the wide receivers since he has a background with them. Meyer initially said no but after coaches asking him constantly he finally said yes. Now Coach Meyer is the wide receiver coach for football as well as the asst. strength and conditioning coach. However, being a coach isn’t the only thing that Meyer does on his free time. He plays rugby, yes, I said rugby. It’s odd isn’t it. When he mentioned this, I was shook because if I’m being real I only thought rugby was played in England. However, there are three teams in Cincinnati which include, Cincinnati Wolfhounds, Queen City, and The Kelts, and coach Meyer plays for Queen City. Meyer said, “My best friend from high

Elder hosts GCL summit Carmine Domenicone ‘20 Co-Editor in Chief

Leadership, among many other stan-

dards, holds significant importance to students, faculty, and alumni here at Elder High School. Throughout the school year, students are taught and reminded of the leadership role they are designated to fulfill, especially when climbing the ladder as upperclassmen. On Tuesday, September 10th , all the GCL South schools (St. X, Moeller, and LaSalle) met at Elder High School to discuss and take part in leadership centered discussions. Each school brought both student and faculty to attend the event. Elder students who participated in the summit included: Carmine Domenicone ’20, Kory Klingenbeck ’20, Luke Lammers ’21, Jacob Stiens ’21, Tony Walker ’21, and Charlie James ’21. To kick off the discussions, 1968 Elder grad, Dennis “DJ” Janson spoke on

terms of his own personal view of leadership and how the GCL is a prime example of such. He started off by sharing some of his experiences here at Elder and how those valuable lessons he learned led him to begin a career in sportscasting here in Cincinnati. He then went on to discuss the importance of sportsmanship and spoke on terms of how the GCL displays great sportsmanship, even in rivalry type settings. After the conclusion of his speech, LaSalle principal, Aaron Marshall led the remainder of the discussion by placing students from each high school into small groups to discuss various topics including: leadership, sportsmanship, tradition, competition, and unity. Following small group discussion and brainstorming ideas to share with the group as a whole, students and faculty ate lunch while sharing personal stories

photo from Wilmingtonquakers.com

Features 11

school got me started. He asked me to play in college, but I was hesitant.” On Meyer’s first rugby game he got a red card in 45 seconds because he said he didn’t really know the rules. He said, “I’m still learning the rules but I’m getting the hang of some of them.” I guess not knowing the rules to a game that you are playing isn’t good because you can get a red card in 45 seconds just like PJ. While being a strength and conditioning coach has its ups and downs Meyer said, “Being the coach pushes me to give 100% and stay locked in and engaged every day. Seeing the students evolve as student-athletes and building relationships with them make my job great.” While he also said, “Setting the field up and forgetting something, and then having to run back and grab things while thinking on the fly is probably the worst part.” Now what I’m thinking is that Coach Meyer’s rugby team should play our football team. Have a two-game series were, one game is more like rugby and is played without pads while the other is played more like football. I would love to see this, so should we make it happen? GCL South students take a break from the summit in Elder’s library on September 10.

of what identifies their school’s tradition. The common theme shared by the Elder students was brotherhood and the amount of pride each and every one of the students, faculty, and staff have in the school. The event ended around 12:30 as each school dismissed and returned to their classes. To get a perspective of how the summit transpired I asked Mr. Quatman, head of the Spirit Committee at Elder to share some thoughts. “I thought the GCL Summit was successful. It’s always a great opportunity to get the GCL South schools together to discuss shared values that are inherent to all of us. One thing we tend to find out is that we are much more similar than different.

The whole benefit of the Summit is to discuss what it means to be a student leader, what qualities a leader should have, and what is acceptable sportsmanship in GCL contests and games,” Quatman shared. Senior Kory Klingenbeck added, “It was a great experience talking with some of the guys we compete with on the court and on the field. I also thought we built some solid comradery amongst the GCL schools.” That being said, Elder High School thanks the students and administrators from St. X, Moeller, and LaSalle who took their time to come to campus and share their perspectives.


12

Features

Monday September 30, 2019

Elder Esports powered up and ready for action Jacob Cowans ‘20 Staff Writer

A brand-new sport is growing across the

United States, and Elder High School has taken notice. Esports is one more competition that Elder students are able to take part in starting this fall. Esports (short for electronic sports) are competitive video games of strategy and skill, that can be played both individually and as a team. Because game choice and versatility are so vast, esports is growing rapidly to become one of the most popular competitions in the world. The first ever season of Elder Esports has already begun. Led by Mr. Evert, computer science teacher at Elder, the Esports program has finally taken off. The first ideas of an Esports organization started a while ago. Mr. Evert said, “I’ve been talking with students at Elder for more than a year about starting some sort of esports club or team. What catalyzed this effort was some research into different competition frameworks. Almost all of them were expensive and time-consuming. But after I learned that eSports Ohio was free, open only to Ohio high school students and also “teacher-created/run” that settled it for me.” With a few weeks of hard work, Elder has been able to successfully create an esports program, which has become a part of the ever-growing Esports Ohio League. Elder will be among the first schools to represent southwest Ohio in the league. This will absolutely make Elder stand out even more among other area schools, and gives students the ability to prepare for the possibility of joining college teams (and potentially opens the door to more

scholarship opportunities, as more and more colleges are offering scholarships for excelling players). Esports first came into the realm of possibility last year, and attempts were made to kick off the sport last spring. This year, however, students and staff alike doubled down on trying to make this new organization a reality. Now, the sport is better than ever, and improvements and developments are constantly being made to give Esports players the best experience possible. Additionally, participation and overall interest in the sport has caught the attention of the entire student body, who cannot wait to see what this new organization has in store. This is the first full year for Elder Esports, which typically has both a fall and spring season. At the moment, the games offered by the league include League of Legends (PC), Overwatch (PC), Rocket League (PC), and Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo Switch) Fortunately, through these games, students will be able to participate in and enjoy safe, yet competitive gameplay experiences. As Mr. Evert says, “I’m really excited by the opportunity to offer a new, really engaging activity to Elder students. There’s clearly a lot of interest. I just want to make sure that students compete fairly, have fun, and represent Elder in a positive fashion.” As the program continues to grow in the future and travels through further development, students can certainly expect more games added to the roster. In the future, Mr. Evert said, “I would like to see us both make more teams in those games (like a Junior Varsity or Club level) as well as expand into new

titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, Madden, NBA and others.” This is an exciting time for Elder, and a big step towards opening the doors to similar competitions in the near future. There are certainly a lot of benefits to introducing Esports, including enabling students to build relationships and confidence in themselves, especially for those

who are otherwise uninterested in traditional sports. These students are finally given the opportunity to compete in a safe and social place, consequently developing collaboration, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Esports is a great means of introducing students for the increasingly digital world around them, and showing them that perseverance, teamwork, and decision making are important parts of this technological age. If you are interested in viewing some

A screen-shot of a goal during Elder’s Rocket League victory earlier in the season.

of these competitions, Mr. Evert said, “We are planning on streaming games on Switch hopefully by this week. As well, we’re trying to get “highlights” played by ENN on Fridays. But most importantly, come by Schaeper Center room S-132 around 4pm Monday-Wednesday afternoons - win or lose, it’s a lot of fun!”


Monday September 30, 2019

Student Features 13

Through the lens of the VPT Jack Bruggeman’20 Staff Writer

Do you long to be close sports action

or have people see your events from their own home? Elder’s Video Production Team is the key to making that a reality. This team goes to various events ranging from football and hockey to Mr. Allen’s 50th Year Celebration. The team members take the videos and construct highlights. They also do a lot of the behind the scenes work because they are the ones who “break down the equipment after the game and put it back into the studio.” This group’s leader is Mr. Fuell himself. He believes that “the most rewarding part of this club is seeing the students progress as they get more involved” in it. Senior Jack Langen got involved in this club because he was in awe when he saw highlights from his grade school games. Langen’s philosophy for anyone wanting to join this club would be to just “go for it. If the broadcast world is something that interests you, go do it.” The team also consists of students like junior Adam Duwel, that were not interested in this kind of activity going into Elder. Duwel recalls a time when Elder played

Moeller in football and was asked to do this by Mr. Rogers and Mr. Fuell. Duwel “agreed to [join the club] that night and [he hasn’t] looked back.” According to Langen, Duwel even shows a higher level of commitment toward this team. Langen told me that Duwel has driven to places like Mason, and that may not be a long ride for some of us, but Duwel lives in Indiana. “So, anything that’s short for us is far for him. That’s impressive.” Langen and Duwel agree that the Video Production Team is a great way to meet new people. They have been fortunate to meet people in this type of business who helped them learn the ins and outs and learn new tricks. These are two people that really like to learn about video production. In fact, Duwel credits this team with giving him “a purpose and a drive.” He needed a passion and believes that he may have found his career path. In my opinion, Duwel and Langen are two of the most committed people who strive for Altiora. I truly believe they want to be the best Elder men they can be because of how dedicated they are to the Video Production team. This club could

be a way for you to be more involved with Elder because of how much you can do. This club offers the opportunity to go to Elder events that you may not attend otherwise. This might just be your passion and, like Duwel and Langen, something you want to do for the rest of your life.

Jack Langen and Adam Duwel have spent countless hours filming sports and other events at Elder, but have gained valuable experience for what they hope to do for a career.

Clubs to join at Elder Chase Schaerer Staff Writer

“Get involved.”

That is what I was told when I was a freshman coming into Elder. Everyone told me that high school is so much more exciting and beneficial if you get involved with sports and clubs and student groups. They told me that what we put into high school is what we get out of it. With that in mind, I was very conscious in my efforts to get more involved with different activities around school. I asked a few students around school what clubs they were in and why they would recommend others to join it, or just get involved in general. I am involved in a few clubs, but my favorite is the ski club. In the ski club, we meet sometime in the fall to get the numbers on how many people will be involved this winter, and to get order forms for our passes. We go to Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg once they open up for the season. We go on Wednesdays after school. You can find a ride with someone else, or you can put your skis or snowboard in Mr. Tierney’s room and take the school van to the slopes. It’s a great club to join if you enjoy skiing, snowboarding or if you just want something to do when it gets all cold and snowy.

Another group that has been highly recommended to join is student council. I talked to senior Marc Crable about which clubs or groups to join and he was very passionate about student council. When I asked Marc why he would recommend student council he said, “Because it is fun to be behind the scenes of a lot of the events at Elder.” He said they meet once a month in Mr. Reiring’s room to discuss the upcoming events and what they need to do to make them happen. They are always working out the kinks behind the scenes so that when an event comes around it goes smoothly and without a flaw. One of the more well-known clubs here at Elder is the euchre club. I talked to a couple of seniors who have been participating in the euchre club since they were freshmen, to find out why the love it so much. They said it is just a fun time to hang out and have some fun with friends. Joseph Bieter said, “It’s the best club. We have donuts every Friday and play euchre.” You can catch Joseph dominating in the euchre tournament at Elderfest in the spring, which I’m sure is due to his playing every Friday in Mr. Louis’s room. A lesser-known club is the Support the Troops club. I have been told very

passionately how great this club is to be a part of. When asked which club was the best to get involved with, Conner Magness told me: “Support the Troops club because you can get involved with active military members overseas. You’re also doing it with an all-around great group of guys who are fun to be with.” This is a very unique club, because there is no other club here at Elder where you can actually get involved with someone on the other side of the world. These are just a few of the many options you have for clubs and organizations at Elder. If you really want to enjoy your time in high school, get involved. If you don’t get involved with anything here because you can’t fin anything you like, get a couple friends and start your own club. There really is no excuse not to be involved in something during your four years here, so don’t be afraid to try.

Popular Clubs at Elder include Support The Troops, Euchre and Ski Club


14

Monday September 30, 2019

Arts & Entertainment

Where is Marvel headed in Phase 4? Jacob Cowans ‘20 Staff Writer

Whether it is Spider-Man swinging

through New York, Thor calling lightning down upon his foes, or Thanos’ snap, Marvel has certainly created some of the most iconic characters and scenes in movie history. Over the course of the past eleven years, Marvel has been able to release 23 films, collectively creating what is now known as the Infinity Saga, split into three distinctive “phases.” While Marvel was unsure how much success their first few movies would have, it quickly became clear that the audience loved their movies. Now, after all these years, their hard work paid off in the form of two of Marvel’s biggest movies to date. Many of the biggest Marvel characters saw an end to their chapter of the story through the huge movies Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. These two movies alone pulled in $2.04 and $2.72 billion respectively at the box office, giving the studio a lot to work with in the future. Now, the studio is on their way to kicking off Phase 4 (Phase 3 officially ending with Spider-Man: Far From Home), but with the absence of the two primary protagonists, Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Steve Rogers (Captain America), after reaching their stories’ end. This leaves fans with the big question: “Where will the MCU be headed next?”

Poor Kevin Hart Jackson Grimmelsman ‘21 Staff Writer

Kevin Hart is one of the funniest come-

dians in the world today. He also is an actor who has starred in many movies including the recent Ride Along, Night School, and Jumanji. Kevin Hart recently turned 40. In January of 2019, he was atop the news because he missed a chance to host the Oscars. According to CNN, “A series of homophobic tweets Hart made between 2009 and 2011 drew public scrutiny late last year. Hart initially declined to apologize, saying he was “not going to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I’ve moved on and I’m in a completely different space in my life.” In the news a few weeks ago, it was reported that Hart was severely injured in a horrible car accident. Hart was transported to a Los Angeles hospital and spent almost two weeks there before he was officially released five days ago. When the news was spread across the nation, many of his co-stars posted their prayers and determination for Hart to get better soon.

In the short space between Phase 3 and Phase 4, Marvel has taken quite a few losses. One of the biggest tragedies that fans have been outraged about is the disappearance of Spider-Man from the MCU. Marvel and their parent company, Disney, while attempting to improve their co-financing agreement that they previously had with Sony, was unable to come to a compromise. The deal ultimately ended with Sony taking the rights of Spider-Man from Disney, effectively removing him for the foreseeable future. Along with the loss of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers, who were some of the major producers on the past few movies, are also leaving Marvel. Despite all of this unfortunate news, at least Holland and Feige are proud of their past work and confident in the future of both Spider-Man and Marvel as a whole. “It was never meant to last forever,” Feige said. “We knew there was a finite amount of time that we’d be able to do this, and we told the story we wanted to tell, and I’ll always be thankful for that.” Addressing future plans, Spider-Man actor Tom Holland said, “We’ve made five great movies. It’s been five amazing years… Who knows what the future holds? But all I know is that I’m going to continue playing Spider-man and having the time of my life” Holland added, “The future for Spider-Man will be different, but it will Dwayne Johnson said on Instagram: “Stop messing with my emotions, brother. We have a lot more laughing to do together. Love you man, stay strong.” The Rock and Hart have co-stared together in four movies. Other stars like Bryan Cranston, Nichole Kidman, Terry Crews, and Marlon Wayans posted their deepest thoughts about Hart. These actors have also starred in movies with Hart. Before the crash occurred on the Saturday before Labor Day, Hart posted on his Instagram a picture of him jumping into his pool at his Calabasas home. The caption said, “Being home makes me happy… enjoy your weekend people #LiveLoveLaugh. Later that day he also posted a video of himself behind the wheel of the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, peeling out on what looked like a local street. That night, Hart crashed the Barracuda by flipping the car off the Malibu highway. According to TMZ, “the eyewitness who called 911 from the accident scene says he saw a security guard pull Kevin from the driver’s side window of the wrecked muscle car. CHP says first responders found Jared pinned in the driver’s seat when they arrived. He and

be equally as awesome and amzing, and we’ll find new ways to make it even cooler.” While Sony has revealed that they have no intentions of reopening the negotiations with Disney any time soon, the two studios still hold tremendous respect for each other, which means there is always the chance for Spider-Man to return in the distant future. Despite all of the news about SpiSpider-man swings his way out of MCU Phase Four after Sony takes back the rights from Disney. der-Man, the near future of the MCU is incredibly exciting. Some of the features per month on Disney+. we know are coming out in the next few In addition to this good news, Disney years include Black Widow, The Eternals, has recently obtained the rights to some Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten major Marvel characters, including the Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and fan-faof Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder. vorite Deadpool. Who knows how these Some of these movies, just by the title characters will play a role in the future of alone, show that there is a lot more action the MCU? in store for fans of the MCU. Phase 4 is looking like it is going to On top of that, through Disney’s be packed full of amazing features, so new streaming service, fans will receive fans of Marvel won’t have to wait long much more than just movies. Some of the for some brand new, incredible content. shows that will be released in the near If Marvel manages to make something as future include The Falcon and the Winter grand as the Infinity Saga again, this is Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, What If…?, where it will all begin. It may not be long Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and before the MCU is once again smashing She-Hulk. There will certainly be plenty box office records. of content for viewers to enjoy for only $7

Kevin Hart flashes the sign that he’s good despite reports that his is still in pain.

his fiancée, Rebecca, were removed after firefighters sawed off the roof of the car. Jared’s condition is still unclear, but we’re told he suffered similar injuries to Kevin.” According to entertainment tonight “Close friend Tiffany Haddish said, “He’s already walking. He’s good,” However, sources stressed to TMZ that the star is “still in excruciating pain” despite the positive mood he tries to radiate to friends. The sources also stressed that

while he is on his feet he is “walking slowly and gingerly.” Many of Hart’s fans are hoping for a fast recovery for the actor and top comedian. After some controversy in the beginning of 2019, most people still love the actor for all he does on the big screen and on the stage. I hope for a fast recovery for Kevin Hart so we can see him continue with his acting and comedy careers.


Monday September 30, 2019

Faculty Features 15

Wahlert talks campaign Jack Langen ‘20 Staff Writer

Election season is right around the cor-

ner. Politicians are burdened with preparation and responsibility, yet you still see them making public appearances. I was able to catch up with a local politician, Elder’s own Dr. Matt Wahlert, to learn more about the process of campaigning and what goes into making the campaign possible. Dr. Wahlert is running for the position of Colerain township trustee. A trustee is in the legislative branch and is responsible for setting laws. They sit on a committee and oversee board meetings, which can get a bit hectic. Meetings start around 7pm, and, on several occasions, he noted, the meetings lasted into the morning hours of the next day. Their biggest responsibility, Dr. Wahlert says, is spending and how money is spent within the township. That is an especially large responsibility in Colerain township, whose annual budget is upwards of $34 million. However, Wahlert isn’t afraid of this challenge. His key is the right attitude. “To me this was just an opportunity to help make my community a better place and to answer the call to service to help people kind of get united in the same effort.” This is not a surprising remark from him. In AP Government class, he teaches that, on the local level of government, there isn’t much difference between Democrats and Republicans. They are concerned with much more direct mat-

ters, like management of safety, roads, and parks, so they are better able to work together in order to serve the community in a necessary and timely fashion. In order to get to this position of public service, though, it will take him a lot of work. Not only in the public sense, but also in the detailed, behind-the-scenes responsibilities. “For example, I will send out about 100,000 mailers over the course of a month, which can be kind of a big kind a of deal.” These same complications show in trying to organize going door-to-door throughout all of Colerain. “There’s somewhere between 15 and 20 people that will volunteer for my campaign and go around and simply just knock on doors and say, ‘Hey, vote for Wahlert.’ Coordinating that is, is a huge, huge mess. What streets have I hit, what streets haven’t I hit? Stuff like that.” “Honestly, you just have to be very, very well organized. I have people helping me do that, because on a good day, that’s not my biggest strength,” admits Wahlert. Often times, however, he has to keep a check on his team. With the combative environment that can arise from social media, it takes a lot to remain calm and to keep a cool head. “I think the biggest challenge is being just being patient and trying to be the adult in the room,” he says. “Oftentimes you go on Facebook, and people are just nailing you for stuff that’s not even true. Someone on your team is gonna want to respond or to kind of make it personal.

You can’t have that.” It seems that he is geared towards working on teams. Wahlert also mentioned that he recently took a position sitting on the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Teacher Advisory Committee, reporting to the superintendent to provide feedback on what is working well in the classroom.

Wahlert in the classroom and on the campaign trail with his team of volunteers. (photos courtesy of cincinnatirepublic.com and @mattforohio)

Dr. Wahlert spends countless hours working hard to facilitate several communities. We’ll see if all that collaboration and hard work pays off come November.

OnCampus vs Netclassroom Joe Book ‘20 Staff Writer

During the 2018-2019 school year,

Elder High School made the incredibly impactful and fateful decision to switch from Netclassroom to OnCampus. This important change naturally came with accompanying adjustments. Students had to get used to using the newer and updated OnCampus and faculty had to switch from a system they had been used to for years to something entirely brand new. But which is better? To answer this question, I asked several people for their opinions. To start off my quest, I went to Mr. Nohle, the man who administers the OnCampus system for Elder. Mr. Nohle stated that he was generally in favor of the new(er) system – it offers a plethora of advantages that Netclassroom lacked or simply didn’t have. He did go on to state

though that in some ways Netclassroom gave administrators better overall control and that OnCampus still lacks some features that the previous program had. However, from what it sounded like, even if a student absolutely loved Netclassroom and wanted to stick with it, they wouldn’t be able to. Mr. Nohle informed me that the main reason for the change was that, to put it simply, Netclassroom is being phased out. Naturally, this leaving behind of the old necessitated change, and that change was the implementation of what we all know and love as OnCampus. Another person I talked to was senior Jack Langen. Suffice it to say, Langen had a variety of things to say about the two. On one hand, he said that OnCampus had a nice interface that made it more accessible for incoming freshmen to use. On the other hand, he said that Netclassroom was

Student checks his assignments using the On Campus system. (photo by Joe Book ‘20)

much more direct and an overall more logical system. In his words, he stated that comparing the two was like a “2016 Honda Civic versus a 2015 basic Honda”. Netclassroom and OnCampus are two very distinct systems. One very logical and straightforward, the other modern and appealing. So which one is better? I don’t

really think it’s that black and white. They clearly both have their own advantages and downsides and are unique in their own way. Sorry Netclassroomites and OnCampusers, the jury is still out.


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Monday September 30, 2019

Back Page

The Quill Fall Sports Crossword Bogus birds Thomas Peters ‘20 Staff Writer

Can you honestly tell me that you have seen a real, living bird

Jack Langen ‘21

Across

6. Latest renovation to the Pit 9. The student section witnessed an exciting 2-0 victory over this team (2 words) 11. Only he can outrun his tractors 13. Lucas Kraft broke an Elder golf record with a 34 on this course (2 words) 15. The golf team can’t transport all of its bags in this coach’s iconic white Prius 16. Man in the Box 17. 34.4 YPG, single game generator rossword c e th t a was not s th gen report this puzzle ne te a re c Jack Lan to o at he used o word answers as break website th s tw rd is o h nerate re the w able to ge are indicating whe elcome. w we u. You’re word, so to help yo le zz u p e in th

Down

1. The freshmen will never get this down (2 words) 2. The most feared twins on the pitch 3. Home to Elder Golf: ________ ______ Country Club (2 words) 4. Elder Soccer handed this team its first city loss in 3 years 5. In the summer-time, you’ll find the XC team running alongside this Michigan river 7. “My sport is your sport’s _______” 8. Tommy Kraemer is the 17th Panther to play football here (2 words) 10. Bicycle kick 12. This golfer has been on varsity ever since his freshman year 14. Elder’s first AD. Was also the football coach until 1927.

at any time within the past twenty-five years? Actually, let me answer that question for you: you haven’t. Now, there are some crazy conspiracy theories out there. Whether it be the thousands of people who believe the earth is flat, the idea that the pyramids of Egypt were created with the help of aliens, or the growing number of supposed government hoaxes, conspiracy theories have been capturing our attention for decades. In the past decade or so, there has been a growing movement defending an idea that is so bizarre I felt the need to address and determine the theory’s validity. Basically, there has been a growing number of people who believe that all birds are now C.I.A. drones that spy on us and monitor our lives without us knowing. In support of this claim, believers back themselves up by supposing that in the past half-century, especially during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, all of the natural aviary creatures have been mercilessly exterminated and slowly replaced with their robotic lookalikes. Sounds crazy, right? Well, in order to truly understand this conspiracy, I checked out their official webpage (birdsarentreal.com) and read through the history section so that I could try to understand where they were coming from. It turns out that that most of their “history” was truly only speculation and a few witness accounts that were unreliable. Without reliable information to support their claims, I have to disagree with their ideas about fake birds. There simply is too much evidence against their conspiracy. For example, what about the bird hunting industry, why aren’t reports of robotic birds being shot down happening on huge scales as they should if most birds were fake? Also, why would fake birds defecate on my car a couple times every year? Even if they had organic materials stored in their bird-like apparatuses, the sheer amount of materials needed for even half of all birds would be impossible to acquire. Sea-birds alone produce 3.8 million metric tons of nitrogen worldwide every year. It appears that the “fake birds” conspiracy is nothing but a sham. Without proper explanation, or any convincing information at all, it is very hard to agree with anyone who believes this. It seems that the only reason someone would feel the need to spread this message would be because they are just trying to create another story of how the government is secretly controlling our lives without our consent. The only reason most people have even heard of this idea is most likely due to jokes being told about how birds aren’t real. While researching conspiracy theories, I am sure you will learn about some of the stupidest ideas people can create over the smallest occurrences. Regardless, the fake bird conspiracy was very interesting to learn about, and I highly recommend reading about other hoaxes, no matter how ridiculous they seem.

Which sport causes the most pain? Zack Thompson ‘20 Staff Writer

Most of us enjoy either participating in

or watching sports. They are a great form of entertainment, but the pleasure that comes with these sports pays a price on the athletes. Pain is present and the result of actions from the participation in these sports. When I was at an Elder football game on a Friday night, I saw some of my buds who are players either running over or getting run over by players. The question was raised in my head of which sport causes the most pain? I narrowed some seemingly painful sports down to football, wrestling and lacrosse. I caught up with Carter Smith of the football team. “Football definitely causes the most pain, but every second of it is worth it.” I really liked this answer he gave me. I have no clue what it is to play football in the Pit, but I’m sure he is

correct. Carter claims that getting his toes stepped is the most painful and he said that some days he is sore from blocking people all day. I asked him if practices were painful at all. “It all depends, practices aren’t too painful, it just makes me a bit sore from the workout.” That was all I needed from Carter, but different positions experience different pain levels. I still believe football causes a lot of pain. One of my close friends, Jack Collins, is a wrestler, so I asked him some questions about pain in wrestling. “Wrestling comes with all sorts of pains and not a single one of them is fun.” I asked Jack which pain is the worst and he said that cutting weight is pretty painful both mentally and physically, but he is used to it because he has wrestled for eleven years now. Cutting weight sounds horrible. “Anything can happen to your body at practice or during a match. You can get

The author is convinced that wrestling causes the most pain of any sport. (photoshop by Mr. Rogers)

slammed, elbowed, headbutted and all that fun stuff while participating. This all made me realize how much these guys have to go through. After listening to the previous two athletes, I thought there was no way that lacrosse would be as painful, but I was very surprised after talking to lacrosse goalie Isaiah Maas. “Lacrosse is very painful, it is a war on the field. Having those balls hitting me from shots definitely makes some pain stay with me the next few days.” That made a lot more

sense after hearing this. Zay also told me about how you can still lay people out in lacrosse and hit them with their sticks. It sounds like it hurts very badly. All of these athletes gave me great answers to my question. I still can’t fully decide on an answer, but if I had to pick one, I would go with wrestling. I learned some very interesting facts about each sport, and I have gained an eagerness to go watch all of them. I guess it is good that they are all in different seasons.


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