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Mountlake Terrace High School | 21801-44th Avenue West | Mountlake Terrace | WA | 98043 | 425.431.7770 | MTHS.Hawkeye@gmail.com | www.TheHawkeye.org
No shoes, no school, no sympathy
V.25.06 | 13 April 2010
Royals dethroned by Hawks
By Megan Resler News Editor
Several students took part in an event last Thursday aimed at bringing awareness and empathy to impoverished third world countries. The event, networked through Facebook, required students to walk barefoot through the halls. That didn’t go over well, however, with school officials. The dress expectations of the student handbook state that “as a matter of health and safety, everyone must be fully clothed, including shoes or sandals and shirts. Students who do not dress according to the dress code will be asked to change or be sent home.” While shoes are specifically addressed in the MTHS dress code, the Edmonds School District policy does not require that shoes be worn during school hours, only that dress not “create a health or other hazard to the student’s safety or to the safety of others.” However, ESD has developed a series of three steps outlined for individual school’s administrations to discipline students who violate the dress code. The steps include: If the student’s dress or grooming is objectionable under these provisions, the principal shall request the student make appropriate corrections. If the student refuses, the principal shall notify the parent and request that person to make the necessary correction. If the student continues to refuse, the principal shall take appropriate corrective action. Students may be suspended if circumstances so warrant. “In fourth period, a classmate of mine wasn’t wearing shoes,” sophomore Hunter Goncalves said. “I asked why not, and he told me about the event to bring awareness to third world countries. I thought it was cool and took off my shoes. During second lunch, (educational assistant) Jerry (Myers) told me to put my shoes back on, I said okay and to hang on. A few minutes later Jerry and (Assistant Principal Scott) Morrison come by and take me to the office. I was sentenced to two lunch detentions.” Morrison sent out an email to teachers asking them to remind students that bare feet are against the health and dress codes. It is difficult to determine the exact impact upon student awareness and empathy for impoverished nations, but not everyone was satisfied with the demonstration. “My feet just got cold,” Goncalves said.
Gas station blaze
Photo by Megan Resler
The abandoned gas station on 212th St. SW and 52nd Ave W. caught on fire around 6:15 p.m. on April 11. Firefighters from Fire District 1 and Mountlake Terrace police arrived quickly on the scene and subdued the flames. The smoke smelled strongly of sulphur.
Photo by Cassie Soriano/ Hawkeye
Corrine Pingul (above) and Sam Morin played a No. 1 double against Grace Sim and Miranda Qassis in the tennis team’s first match against the Lynnwood Royals. Both veteran players, this is Pingul’s second year on the team and Morin’s third. Their match ended 0-6, 1-6 but the team took their first victory of the season. For more sports, see pages 11 and 12.
Drama Department in fiscal crisis By Anh Hyunh Hawkeye staff
The Drama Department wrapped up its last performance of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” another comedic musical production last month. The focused on a group of six spelling bee contestants who came from diverse backgrounds and showcased diverse personalities. The play attracted a plethora of audience members from MTHS, Mountlake Terrace, and neighboring communities, receiving wide acclaim by the unique plot and captivating characters. But, the polished nature of the play gave no indication to the strain the department is currently under. Due to rising costs, the Drama Department has struggled greatly to maintain its financial resources. Although “Spelling Bee” was produced using a comparatively small budget, the department still had to pay for peripheral expenses, including the rights (permission to use the artist materials), royalties (the payment to the artist and publisher) and rental of the materials. Before the production could even begin they were required to make a payment of more than $3,500, about $1,000 higher than the average cost for a musical just five years ago. “The publishing companies are very careful about maintaining copyright and will not release the scripts and orchestration of the music to the general population,” drama teacher Jeannie Brzovic said. According to Brzovic, the world-renowned program is nearing its demise mainly due to continuously low audience turn-outs and, therefore, a lack of revenue. Since the program depends on its ticket sales to pay its bills and purchase set equipment and costumes, failing attendance will make it harder for the program to stay afloat during the current economic downturn. “I realize that most people do not understand the financial aspect of this program, but this production, like most of the musicals, runs around $6,000 to produce. I used to think the failing audience was due to the division of our school into small learning community structures. However, we have not seen a return of our audience,” Brzovic said. “Most people probably think our program is just a high school kind of theatre so they’re reluctant to come, yet last year it was selected as one of the top
10 drama programs in the nation,” actor Irving Garcia said. Garcia has been part of the drama department for two years and has starred in such school productions as “Harvey,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” and “Spelling Bee.” “A small house used to be around 250 people. Ever since the implementing of small schools a small house is now 75 people. I feel we are still yet to recover from them and become a whole community again,” Brzovic said. Consequently, the Drama Department has been forced to employ more resourceful and thrifty strategies. They reuse bits and pieces of the sets over and over again. They also borrow furniture and set dressings from homes, and if purchases are necessary they shop extensively before buying. “Our goal is to cover the expense of the shows in addition to continue to prioritize the quality of program and variety of selection and connections for curricular materials in English and social studies. If we do earn extra money, we reinvest it into the program by upgrading the old and outdatDue to ed equipment,” Brzovic said. With the many accomplishrising costs, ments the Drama Department the Drama and its members have achieved Department at both regional and national has struggled levels during the past year and earlier this year, the cessation to maintain of the department is a serious financial prospect. solvency “It will leave a gaping hole for the educational opportunity provided for the performing arts students,” Brzovic said. Both Brzovic and Garcia said they believe that greater advertising and word-of-mouth as well as more support from the faculty would help the department increase its audience numbers. Senior Alix Deenin, who played Marcy in “Spelling Bee” said, “It’s an amazing program. Everyone has some sort of vent, whether it’s sport, music, skateboarding, etc. Drama is ours. Without support from this community, we would lose this crucial part of our lives.”