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Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2012 Volume 53 Edition 15
Team Building Speech members prepare for successful season, pages 4-5 Follow us on Twitter @ tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org
Officials discuss longer school day
Will eight periods benefit students more than seven? Cedar Falls High School may switch to an eight-period school day next year. There are several options for how to accomplish this. The plan includes extending students’ days by 15 minutes and having three lunch shifts instead of four. Two different drafts include 46-minute periods and 45-minute periods each with five-minute passing periods. “In essence, we will still have a seven-period day for students spread out over eight periods,” Principal Dr. Rich Powers said. There are three main reasons why an eight-period day will potentially be advantageous. “[The first is to] provide a system of enhancement and support for all students during the school day. Generally, no student would have eight classes. The two exceptions may be an ALPHA class or potentially nine weeks of marching band as the eighth class,” Powers said. Another benefit of having eightperiod days is the additional space that will be available for classes and labs during the day. “It opens up about 55 classrooms (all of our rooms for one extra period). Currently, our growth is limited by the space we have available in our seven period schedule,” Powers said. “We are projected to continue to increase in our student enrollment for the next ten years.” The third benefit is with an increase in time, more opportunities will be available to students such as fitting more electives into their schedules. This has been difficult more recently because Iowa’s core academic requirements were increased a few years ago. With more periods in the day, more art classes could be offered, which is a plus for art department chair Lisa Klenske. “Hopefully it will take some of the overcrowding out of our art classes. It does present problems with storage because we do not have any more storage space for more projects,” Klenske said. No doubt students will be affected by this change if implemented. “It will provide guaranteed support for all students. This could be for remedial help or enhanced opportunities inside the school day. The goal is for this support to begin when a student is dropped off by the bus to when they are picked up,” Powers said. The new schedule will also provide more flexibility. “A release can be removed to provide additional academic support as necessary,” Powers said. Special Needs Department Chair Jennifer Juhl thinks the change will be positive because it will provide more
options for students. “The opportunity for sophomores to have a study hall will be beneficial,” Juhl said. Teachers will feel the effects of the schedule change as well. “Some will likely teach an additional class, while others will have additional support time assigned in a structured environment such as a small study hall or academic lab,” Powers said. Each class time will be shortened to accommodate the extra period, which affects how much material teachers can cover in class. “With the 46-minute schedule, two minutes [shorter] doesn’t sound like much, but two minutes over the course of a 90-day schedule is almost four days [in time lost],” social studies department chair Charlie Blair-Broeker said. The plan currently is to begin school at 7:45 a.m. “[Having eight periods] might mean changing either the beginning or the end of the school day which might cost teachers planning time,” Blair-Broeker said. English teacher Marguerite Demoss sees another hiccup with the proposal. ““The biggest problem I see with it is it flies in the face of research regarding teenagers. It’s a pretty much proven fact that teenagers learn better later in the day,” Demoss said. According to Powers, it is likely that the eight-period day will replace the seven-period day next year. “We have to move forward with planning now since there is a lot of preparation work for scheduling,” Powers said. Another change for next year concerns the professional development days that currently consume Tuesday mornings for staff. “We are looking at Monday for the late start professional development day next year to help improve the student experience. The change would provide four instruction days in a row most weeks without an interruption,” Powers said. There will be no early bird classes offered. There will also likely be no more full schedule physical education exemptions since many students will not have full schedules. Students will maintain six or seven classes plus physical education per semester. Activity exemptions will still be available with a few adjustments. However, not everything will be new next school year. The number of credits students need to graduate will remain the same, and the new schedule will not impact the number of student school days. By Editor-in-Chief Maya
AMJADI
One of the portential schedules for next year begins twenty minutes early and gets out five minutes early compared with the current schedule. It also goes from four lunch shifts to three. With eight periods in the day, students will have more options open to them. 1. 7:45a - 8:31 (46 minute period) 2. 8:35 - 9:21 (46 minute class) 3. 9:25 - 10:11 (46 minute class) 4. 10:15 - 11:01 (46 minute class) 5. A Lunch 11:01 - 11:33 (32) (52 MINUTE CLASS) B Lunch 11:27 - 11:59 (32) (48 minutes class) C Lunch 11:53- 12:25 (32) (48 minutes class) 6. 12:29 - 1:15 (46 minute class) 7. 1:19 - 2:05 (46 minute class) 8. 2:09 - 2:55 (46 minute class)
Students’ Voices Junior Halle Knox: I’m against having an eight-period day because personally I don’t think adding just one more class will really make a difference.
Junior Eric Simmons: I don’t like this idea of having an eight-period day because I don’t want to be forced to take gym if I don’t have an activity exemption.
Junior Jesse Glockner: I’m just indifferent to the change. I don’t really have an opinion either way about it.
Sophomore Autumn Timm : I don’t like that I can’t really get out of gym if I have a full schedule.
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NEWS HI-LINE Acceptance letter leaves junior nothing but smiles 1,090.99 miles. That is how far away junior Katie Yang will be next fall when she enrolls as a freshman at Columbia University in New York, New York. She was accepted Early Decision by the admission committee. By applying Early Decision, she pledged to the university that if she was accepted, she would attend. Yang compared the feel and atmosphere at Columbia to other schools she’d visited. “Over the summer, we went on a road trip to visit a wide variety of schools to help Katie decide what type of school she wanted to go to. After visiting the colleges, she picked her favorites: Yale and Columbia,” her mother Min Zhang said. “When it came time to apply, we sat down and talked about what she wanted in a school and what she liked about each of the two schools. In the end, Katie picked Columbia.” It was a binding decision, so it took a lot of thought for Yang to choose Columbia. “I liked the atmosphere and the overall feel of it and the students there. Those are what sold me on Columbia,” Yang said. She attended the information session and tour while on campus. “My family [and I] talked with current students there. At Columbia there’s a more independent feel; they’re not all up-tight. It’s relaxed.” While preparing for her college visits, Yang was not picturing herself applying her junior year. “I didn’t decide to apply early until after I visited colleges. I really liked them and the idea of going. It was a lot of work since I decided kind of late, but I had the [high school] credit so I decided to go for it,” Yang said. Certainly a lot of hard work went into Yang’s application process. “We helped her make a timeline of what she needed to do. With the essays, we helped her brainstorm what to write about. We wanted the essays to be her writing, but we gave her ideas on topics. She took it from there,” Zhang said. Yang said she drafted her essays and then reread them a multitude of times. “I didn’t give them to other people to read because then, inevitably, their voices would come through, and I wanted it to reflect my voice and personality,” Yang said. She worked on drafts for three different personal statements and then chose the one she liked the best to edit fur-
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013
ther and perfect. “I picked the one that showed who I am the best. Thankfully Mrs. Timmins has taught me how to crank out papers. I finished my essay just a week before I had to submit it,” Yang said. Among the many parts to her application including transcript, test scores and extracurricular activities, Yang is most proud of her essays. “I put a lot of time into them. I said what I wanted to say, and I think I got what I wanted to get across,” Yang said. Because of the route Yang took, she was not very stressed out while applying. “For me it was ‘if I get in that’s great, if not, I could stay another year and get that much more experience.’ It was what luck had for me I guess,” Yang said. Several people at the high school helped her reach her goal. English teacher Judy Timmins and physics teacher and robotics adviser Kenton Swartley assisted Yang by writing ing along with the assistance of recommendation letters for her. her ALPHA instructors and her The entire counseling office, family. Katie is a very motivated and specifically her counselor student who is a strong advoJosh Carnelley, helped her to cate for her education, and make sure she could graduever since I met her almost four ate early. Carnelley met Yang years ago, she has been the when she was an eighth gradperson asking the questions er and was planning her 9th and getting her goals accomgrade schedule. “Katie has been pushing herself academically for quite some time now. Katie actually started taking her first high school class here while she was in 7th grade. Katie’s plan varies somewhat differently than other stuJunior KatieYang’s mother Min dents in regards to how many advanced high school courses she took prior to attending plished,” Carnelley said. the high school full-time, the Yang feels like the classes amount of advance courses she has taken at Cedar Falls she took online that her family High School have prepared and she sought out outside of her for college. “There were a school, along with her summer lot of assignments, so I had to activities which included taklearn time management and to ing classes and being a part juggle things. In the sciences of college prep activities and classes I learned to evaluate programs. Lastly, with all of the and think in different ways. In high school course work that Composition and Rhetoric, I Katie has taken prior to this learned to write a lot of differyear, she will graduate an enent types of papers,” Yang said. tire year early,” Carnelley said. “I think all the classes helped in Carnelley never had to sugtheir own way.” gest a rigorous course-load for Yang found out her admisYang; she had the drive all on sion decision in December. “I her own. “Katie’s hard work and think everyone gets a little nerdetermination was her own dovous when they find out their
“A few minutes later, she came out jumping and screaming that she got in. We were overwhelmed with emotions.”
ZHANG
Katie Yang Photos
(Left) Junior Katie Yang stands in front of Columbia’s Alma Mater on the steps in front of the Low Library. The statue is of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. (Right) Yang stands in front of Butler LIbrary on Columbia’s campus. She will visit both of these buildings throughout her academic studies at the university and they were already favorites of hers on her campus visit. result,” Yang said. Her mother remembers the day vividly. “Both Katie’s dad and I came home from work early that day to share her special moment. We were actually nervous for a few days before the results were released. When the time came, she insisted on looking at it alone and shut herself in her room,” Zhang said. “A few minutes later, she came out jumping and screaming that she got in. We were overwhelmed with emotions. We were elated because she got in, proud because this was a goal she’s been working at for many years, sad that she’ll be leaving us a year early and just overall excited.” Yang is most nervous for the city because it will be such a cultural shock from Cedar Falls. Cyrus Moussavi, who graduated from CFHS in 2004 and graduated from Columbia in 2008, was also sold after visiting the campus. He picked Columbia because he wanted to experience living in a big city. He had many favorite aspects of Columbia University. “[I liked] New York City music and movies, a library with every book imaginable, good professors, smart and weird classmates and Mexican food available 24 hours a day,” Moussavi said. He has some advice for Yang as she adjusts to city life and college. “Don’t adjust too much. It’s easy to get caught up in New York and try to fit in, but the things you learned
in Cedar Falls will benefit you more than you can imagine. Also, look both ways when you cross the street. Seriously,” Moussavi said. According to her mother, Yang has become very mature, independent and persistent. “If she sets her mind on a goal, she won’t give up until she reaches it,” Zhang said. Qualities like these will allow Yang to flourish in college. “Katie is a very strong student. She has a solid foundation with her academic skills and abilities. She enjoys research. She can do very well when working independently, and she is open to expanding her horizons and challenging herself. Katie has all the right skills to be successful at Columbia,” Carnelley said. Although it is very exciting that Yang will be attending an Ivy League in the fall, her family is also sad about her departure. “We can’t imagine the household without her bubbly, uplifting personality or her daily music practice,” Zhang said. Yang’s brother Kevin Yang loves singing Columbia’s fight song, “Roar Lion Roar,” everywhere he goes. “I’m going to miss playing ping pong and tennis together. I’m excited and proud of her,” Kevin said. The family has shared many favorite moments together. “We have loved watching her grow from a little girl into a fine young lady,” Zhang said. By Editor-in-Chief Maya
AMJADI
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Meditation Keeping yourself sane in a world full of stress, finals and college applications can be grueling. More and more often, students have been turning to meditation as a stressreliever in the fast paced high school life. Meditation can mean many different things to various people. It can be used as a form of spirituality, praying to God or Buddha; it can be used simply as a way to quiet the mind and center the soul. By concentrating on the thoughts in the mind, it creates a more alert reality. Starting meditation can seem daunting, but iTunes’ app store has a variety of guided meditation podcasts, making the jump for first-time meditators easier. According to the Transcendental Meditation Program started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, silently repeating a mantra for 20 minutes a day boasts many benefits, like increased creativity, productivity, tolerance and memory. It also reduces blood pressure, anxiety and unnecessary medical care. Meditation can hold a special place in the hearts of students. Supporters say that meditation reduces violent tendencies, distractions and stress. A study from the Medical College of Georgia found that students that meditated twice a day for 15 minutes had significantly lower blood pressure than students that took physical education classes. Iowa is well known for its meditation oasis: the Transcendental Meditation Program in Fairfield. The program has a large following from communities and celebrities alike. Film director David Lynch has shone a spotlight on the meditation technique by starting the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. His organization provides funding
FEATURE
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013
reduces busy high school stress, improves test scores A beginner’s guide to meditation 1. 2. 3.
4.
• • • •
Oprah Winfrey, TV show host David Lynch, film director Russell Brand, comedian Moby, musician Paul McCartney, musician
Find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. Close your eyes, letting your mind and body relax. Focus on your steadybreathing. Do you take frequent shallow breaths or do you breath from the diaphragm? Repeat a mantra, or short simple phrase silently in your mind. A mantra is typically a positive word or phrase, like “peace” or “calm.”
How long should I meditate for? An average meditator practices for about 20 minutes twice a day. Work at your own pace.
Staff Writer Martha
HALL
for underprivileged students around the world to learn meditation techniques. Celebrities like Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Simmons and Clint Eastwood have been involved in the meditation program. In 2009, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed at a benefit at Radio City Music
Hall in NYC to raise money for one million low-income school children to learn meditation techniques. Besides the program, Fairfield is also the home of the Maharishi School, a preschool through 12th grade teaching consciousness-based education. Their practice of transcendental meditation has helped the private school perform in the top one percent in the nation on standardized tests, an impressive feat. Schools across the country that have implemented meditation programs have seen students achieve higher test scores, have less violent tendencies and better overall well being.
Misconceptions have prevented some from embarking on the adventure of meditation. The spirtuality of meditation depends on the person practicing — it doesn’t have to be religious. It is not important whether it is practiced sitting up or lying down, whichever is more comfortable. The focus is on the mind. It is often thought that meditation is used to quiet the mind, a tough task to accomplish. Actually, meditation can be simple as desired, an inner reflection that encourages alertness. By engrossing yourself in your thoughts, a high state of concentration is achieved, creating a more aware and accepting reality.
Celebrities involved in Transcendal Meditation •
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Eddie Vedder, musician Hugh Jackman, actor Jane Fonda, actress Jeff Garlin, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, comedian John Lennon, musician
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Kurt Vonnegut, writer Mick Jagger, musician Naomi Watts, actress Russell Simmons, entrepreneur Vidal Sassoon, hairstylist
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Stevie Wonder, musician Patti Boyd, model Dr. Oz, celebrity doctor Angelo Badalamenti, composer Brian Wilson, musician
Is it supposed to be tough? Everything can be tough when you’re first starting out. With practice, you will be able to do anything.
I can’t keep my mind clear. Am I doing it wrong? The brain is a complex organ. One of the reasons humans are so cool is because we have a tangled mass of thoughts! The goal of meditation is to reach a more concentrated state of reality. Instead of trying to clear your mind, give those thoughts some attention. What do they mean? Once a new thought pops in, give it some of your time. Eventually, your mind will become calm, but not blank, and the stress will melt away.
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EVENTS Large Group -One-Act Play -Readers Theater -Ensemble Acting -Choral Reading -Group Improvisation -Musical Theater -Radio Broadcasting
Individual -Public Address -Acting -Interpretive Prose -Interpretive Poetry -Literary Program -Original Oratory -Spontaneous Speaking -Radio News Announcing -Expository Address -Storytelling -Improvisation -Reviewing -After Dinner Speaking
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A Tale of One Team Unless you were born to be in the spotlight, to perform in front of people is to venture out of your comfort zone, and often you do everything you can to avoid public speaking. Yet, it is told that throwing aside your discomfort and taking a risk is one of the best possible things you can do for yourself. In the long run, the outcomes of chances you take are far more rewarding than a familiar, comfortable life. Speech is a gateway into disregarding your comfort zone. The speech team should not be confused with a debate team, as it typically is. Speech has nothing to do with debating. It is part of the drama department, with competitions being acting performances. Speech is divided into large group and individuals. For large group, auditions are held in late October, with practices beginning in late November. The season runs through mid February, ending with the All-State Festival held on the Iowa State campus. To be asked to perform at AllState is a true honor, as it is tremendously difficult to get into. Groups can range from two to 15 actors and include events like choral reading (where actors integrate all talking at the same time) or improvisation. Individual events begin right after large group All-State and go until the middle of March. Here, actors are by themselves performing events such as solo mime or storytelling. Involvement with the high school speech team offers pathways to furthering a speech career. Heather Kelly, a first year speech coach and Cedar Falls alumnus, desired to become a coach through her involvement in collegiate speech. “I compared my performance skills from high school speech to now, and it is unbelieveable how much I have grown into understanding myself. That’s why I wanted to coach, to help high school kids exactly like how I was, learn and grow through performance,” Kelly said. Fellow coach, Nick Chizek, also began coaching right out of high school. This season will mark his fourth and final year at Cedar Falls High School. “I had participated in speech in high school and began judging right out of high school. I then was invited to help coach and loved it even more,” Chizek said. Coaches are expected to host auditions, create the script, plan blocking and scheduling and, most importantly, help guide actors to enhance their skills. A primary focus for coaches is the preparing of a script, which can be a long process. “For one act and ensemble, I usually find an already written script that I had seen or heard about. I then bring various scripts to my students and see which fits them best,” Chizek said. “For
choral and readers theater for my Cedar Falls experiences, I had a story I wanted to adapt for the event. I then work on adapting it for many ages.” Coach Kelly follows a similar procedure. “To prepare a script means finding one first, and that is usually the hardest part. It requires a lot of research and reading to find a script that is interesting and compelling. After that, it comes down to whether it is a collection of literature or a single script. If it is a collection, the next step is to compose the literature together so it flows or creates a story. Then, with either form, you cut out parts you don’t want. You must cut it to maintain the story but also remain within the time limits for competition. It sounds complicated, but once you learn the process, it makes a whole lot more sense,” Kelly said. Blocking is another challenge for coaches. To plan blocking requires all actors to be at practice, which can be a struggle. “I usually have a basic structure of what I would like the show to look like. First, I set the scenic elements (blocks); then I see what my students can bring to the plate. If something isn’t working or we are completely stuck, I give specific blocking notes,” Chizek said. Kelly takes a different approach. “I plan blocking with a combination of new and old. I first see if there is anyone else who has performed it, mainly by browsing YouTube or any other form to watch it performed. Usually it comes down to envisioning the characters, how they would move, making sure each person has motivation for movement and creating an interesting scene. It is all about making each line have a statement and their placement among other aspects,” Kelly said. Coaching speech offers its fair share of difficulties, from condensing a script to finding a practice schedule that works for everyone. Kelly states that the biggest challenge is working with numerous different experience levels and personalities. “I have to figure out how a person works in order to help them create a character of their own and to be comfortable stepping out of their box, or challenging them to do more than what they already have.” Coach Chizek finds that student involvement is the hardest part of coaching, since students are very busy, it is challenging to have everyone at rehearsal. Both Chizek and Kelly agree that the most rewarding part of coaching speech is working with students and watching them grow as performers. Witnessing students develop their own “speech instrument” is a very rewarding experience for a coach.
Students involved in speech find that they are more at ease speaking in front of people. Since it is an extracurricular that pushes participants out of their comfort zones, students become more confident expressing themselves. “Being able to communicate ideas effectively is a good skill for numerous situations, and speech has taught me how to do so,” ssophomore Daniel McVicker said. While coaches are busy composing the script and blocking, a different set of challenges arises for performers. “Knowing all the rules and qualifications to not get disqualified is very difficult,” sophomore Emma Redington said. “Putting myself out there to be a completely different person than I typically am is my biggest challenge with speech,” junior Taylor Horvatich said. With the numerous struggles that arise finding the performer within each student, speech is ultimately a gratifying experience. “It is a great feeling when you finally finish a performance and you see all of your hard work pay off, especially when you get a Division I,” sjunior Jensen Kaufman said. Cedar Falls has a prosperous speech department, as there is no shortage of students wanting to be involved with the extracurricular. Throughout its history, the team has sent many events to All-State. The speech team is not connected with the drama department, which isn’t a commonality. At Waterloo West, the speech and theater departments are combined, which has its pros and cons. “I think CF could definitely benefit from a connection of departments, especially since I know a lot of my students struggle to balance both within their schedule. On the other hand, I know Bill Dawson, West High’s coach and director, takes on a lot more than even Ms. Rathe does at CF to accomplish that connection and ease of scheduling. When you have mostly college students coaching speech, like we do, rather than a teacher, you are working with two different sets of schedules, and a teacher’s schedule lines up with a high school student’s much easier,” Kelly said. Though the connection of departments would have its positives, there may also be some drawbacks. “I believe the combination would have its benefits, but I also think having them separate gives students more variety in teachers on the topic of drama. Although both departments here are successful, both approach theater in different ways. I think for students, that is a great benefit,” Chizek said. The speech team encourages students to break out of their shells and release their inner performers. It teach-
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es self-confidence and how to express themselves, which are valuable skills for nearly any situation. Students involved with speech learn many lessons. Arguably, the most substantial is that they can’t be afraid to look silly once in awhile. “Good performance does not come without making a fool of yourself,” Kelly said.
By Entertainment Editor
Lindsey Davis
Starting at top left going clockwise, are a sample of scripts performed in speech and coach Heather Kelly’s blocking notes. Junior Jensen Kaufman, sophomore Liam Tate and junior Taylor Horvatich practice for Readers Theater. Daniel McVicker, a sophomore, rehearses his monologue for Readers. Junior Hannah Ackerman, McVicker, Horvatich, junior Katherine Mayhew and sophomore John Nicol crouch over senior Beth Keesy as she sits in a “bathroom stall” for Choral Reading. At left, the Choral group runs through the beginning scene of their Zombieland piece.
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Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013
2012 BLOCKBUSTERS TO CHECK OUT Batman - The Dark Knight Rises: It is a big surprise that such a commercial movie is on so many lists from worshiping critics. Make a good sequel after Batman - The Dark Knight, the offering that held an amazing plot and made Heath Ledger’s Joker one of the most iconic villains ever, was definitively a huge challenge. But Christopher Nolan and David Goyer kept up with the good work and brought to Batman - The Dark Knight Rises an exciting and strong story, including interesting characters (a.k.a. Catwoman, played by talented Anne Hathaway and Bane, played by the new sensation Tom Hardy). The story happens eight years after Harvey Dent’s death, which Batman is considered guilty for, when Gotham is in a moment of peace. Batman is “retired,” and Bruce Wayne also escaped from society, keeping himself in his house all the time. What brings them back in action is the creepy villain Bane. Looking for a vendetta against Batman, he intends to bring chaos and fear back to the city, and he is very successful. The movie, full of action all the time, also counts on Catwoman, that like in the comics, makes the spectator doubtful about her role as a villain or as a hero, and the cop John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, that ends up becoming one of the key characters. From the beginning to the end, the story has an abundance of suspense and relevant sequences. One can always expect a lot from Christopher Nolan and his crew, but this movie was outstanding, even superheroic. Life of Pi: Director Ang Lee comes up with another great production. Life of Pi is a beautiful visual spectacle with a touching story about friendship and faith. It is a
Another year and Hollywood didn’t bring a lot of news or surprises. It was disappointing to see so many appelative and boring blockbusters. But it would be unfair to ignore some good productions, or at least good intentions, so below are some that deserve some attention.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, one of the most expected movies of the year keep up with the outstanding visual effects strong bet to the Oscars this year. Some wonder if this movie will be as successful as Slumdog Millionaire, since both are Indian. It tells the story of a boy, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, whose family owned a zoo in India and decides to go to Canada, sell the animals there, and begin a new life. They go through a big storm during the trip, and the ship where the family and all of the animals were, sinks. Only Pi, a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a tiger called Richard Parker survive. The director made sure not to have well known actors in the cast so the audience will focus only on the story. It got three nominations for the Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score. Lincoln: It is impossible to ignore such a strong story. The movie, based on the book
“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” shows President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War fighting against slavery. Steven Spielberg directs it with less melodrama than usual, even with the discussions that the plot offers, which are being compared to a very current topic: same-sex marriage. Though neither a masterpiece nor remarkably faithful to the actual facts, one can notice Spielberg’s good intentions, and the movie is the perfect recipe to win several Academy Awards. Daniel Day-Lewis’s incredible performance definitely makes him the most probable winner for the Best Actor in a Leading Role. For the Golden Globes, it has seven nominations: Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture - Drama, Best Performance By An Actor In A Support Role In a Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Motion Picture. Django Unchained: The name behind the movie is already a good reason to check it over. After the great Inglorious
Bastards, Quentin Tarantino is back with a whole different plot and another strong story full of his characteristic eccentric sense of humor and, of course, a lot of action. Django is a slave w h o s e dark past with his owners leads him to meet Dr. King Schultz, a German doctor looking for two murderers. Once he finds out that Django is the only person that can actually help him, he buys him under the promise of setting him free after they accomplish the task. Django, on the other hand, is only worried about rescuing his wife, who was bought a long time ago for other people. Both start an entertaining friendship along the sequence, while Schultz teaches Django how to be a free man, for example. As usual in Tarantino productions, the movie carries a strong cast,
staring the always surprising Jamie Foxx as Django and Christopher Waltz as the good guy time this time There’s also Leonardo DiCaprio as the villain Calvin Candie and Samuel L. Jackson as Candie’s slave. It has five chances to take a Golden Globe this year, being nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Performance By An Actor In a Supporting Role for DiCaprio and Waltz, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The Hobbit: After nine years since his last work with Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings, Peter Jackson came back to give life to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Without a doubt, it was one of the year’s most expected movies, if not the most. The story that happened before The Lord Of The Rings has Bilbo Baggins as the main character, who is taken by Gandalf the Grey to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Some old character are present too, like Gollum, played by the amazing Andy Serkis, and Galadriel, played by the also always enchanting Cate Blanchett. Like in The Lord Of The Rings, Jackson kept up with the strong visuals effects that gave him the Oscar for the whole trilogy, but he had to drastically reduce the story. This time the movie comes with more humor and adventure, even being a little bit exaggerated, like the character Radagast, played by Sylvester McCoy, who is an important element for the plot, but ends up being grotesque in many ways. In general, The Hobbit works as well as the Lord Of The Rings in the hands of it’s good director, but this time he may not get as many prizes as the he got for the last three movies, which would be a big challenge anyway since The Return of the King is one the most awarded movies of all time, winning the 11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. It is worth the ticket!
By Staff Writer Ana
CUNHA
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Our View
OPINION
MY BODY, MY CHOICE
Producing time Prejudice against body art in the workplace Fire up for second Tiger Film Festival
Last year was the first ever Tiger Film Festival. Over a dozen films were displayed to an excited audience. The setup was complete with dazzling emcees, sparkling decorations, sleek awards and a successful balloon drop. This year, the second Tiger Film Festival will be held April 15. Films must be submitted by March 25 to a panel of judges who will select the best ones for display at the event. So, directors, actors, aspiring cameramen and women, there are just four short months until deadline. There are scripts to be written and auditions to be held. Films must be a minimum of 30 seconds in length to a maximum of 15 minutes. They will be judged on the delivery of the message, use of technology, creativity and approach in delivering the message and overall impression. Last year’s submissions ranged from a documentary on training a beloved dog to perform tricks, to a foreign film produced by a German class, to creative music videos. Even if you aren’t interested in submitting a video, the Film Festival Committee would love to have you help plan the event. You can contact Anna Love, Maya Amjadi or social studies teacher Chad Van Cleve to find out about meeting times. Whether you are interested in helping behind the scenes or participating by appearing on screen, your involvement will be appreciated in the spring when audience members will be in for quite the thrill. The Tiger Film Festival is a really neat experience because it is something everyone can participate in, despite their different talents. In movie making and producing, there is something for everyone. Last year, many students were featured and many even highlighted their hard work or unbelievable commitment. It is a night where people are brought together through laughs and tears. Make sure to mark the date and get started on putting a film together with friends.
Contact Us The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes at Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.cfschools.org. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Tuesdays to read during their RCTs fourth period. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hi-Line staff or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial is presented weekly in the editorial labeled Our View, and it is the view of the majority of the editors listed below. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to The Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday for publication in the following Tuesday edition. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Writers should include their contact information for verification. Editor-in-Chief: Maya Amjadi News Editor: Katherine Mayhew Opinion Editor: Maya Amjadi Sports Editor: Jared Hylton Feature Editor: Sandra Omari-Boateng Entertainment Editor: Lindsey Davis Hi-Line Online Editor: Martha Hall Staff Writers: Kaleb Bengston, Ana Cunha, Amanda Harwood, Alyssa Jensen, Lauren Nickerson
drives illogical intolerance in today‘s society “NO FACIAL OR OTHERWISE VISIBLE PIERCINGS WILL BE TOLERATED,” blares the underlined passage in a list of rules and regulations. I’m told I will have to wear a large, beige bandage over the stud on my upper lip, and my nose hoop has to disappear completely. This doesn’t make me especially upset, I am simply happy I got a job. But what about people who are prejudiced so fiercely for their body modifications that they cannot find a job at all? Is this fair? The reasoning I often hear justifying prejudice against people with body modifications is something to the effect of “It’s their fault, they shouldn’t have gotten so many piercings/tattoos.” This confuses me. Though I understand that piercings and tattoos used to be a sign of deviance, now they are widespread. Everyone from soccer moms to college students can sport a tattoo, so why do the negative connotations still exist? I will tell you the reason; employers add fuel to the fire by prejudicing against people with body art, whether it is openly written in workplace rules like the ones I described above or festering beneath the surface. Stereotyping and prejudice against things like weight, gender, race, and other factors are strongly discouraged in the workplace. Though it still happens, an employer found applying prejudice to hiring procedures can be sued. Body art is part of personal appearance and should be respected, but it is openly rejected and shunned from a professional environment. Yes, god forbid we do what we want to our own bodies. Don’t expect to get a job with a mindset like that! In a college town like ours, the buzz of a tattoo gun can nearly always be heard pouring from one of the many body art parlors scattered about. College students are freed from underneath their parents wing and want to take the next step in separating themselves from their parents. Body art can often be a part of that. Does
she was dedicated to her job, she never complained, and no one ever complained about her. One day, however, a man was sitting at the bar, ordering hash browns and a coffee. As my pierced co-worker took his order, I rolled silverware a few chairs By Staff Writer Linne down and kept an eye on HOOFNAGLE my tables. This man was terse and sarcastic toward independency denote devi- her, for what I assumed were ance in these individuals? Of reasons of his own, but my cocourse not! Finding oneself in worker maintained a friendly one’s own outer appearance is smile and an even keel, handa common key to finding one’s ed him a piping hot cup of cofinner self. There’s no basis for fee, and put his order in right these claims of “irresponsibil- away. As he unfurled the newsity” in people with body art, es- paper, he glanced over at me pecially when we’re surround- through large glasses, peering ed by hard working students from underneath a tattered who are flexing their freedoms. baseball cap. “She would probably get more tips if she had less holes in her head,” he scoffed and sneered. Though his order was to him quickly and his coffee cup never emptied, he still left without tipping his waitress. Senior Linne His behavior is an excellent example of this unfair prejudice. The image of the tatted loser The evolving workplace outcast without a job or a fu- should be a place of openture should be so far behind us, mindedness. Though I know especially with statistics that in- that employers could not condicate a rise in the presence of trol the attitudes of patrons body art on people of all ages like the one I described above, and demeanors. hiring people with body art About a year ago, I worked will increase a sense of norin a small restaurant as a wait- malcy toward these modificaress. There was a rule against tions in the workplace. Making visible piercings there, as well, people with piercings and tatbut I only had a nose ring at toos a rare occurrence in the the time. I would put in back workplace only affirms patron in after work and no one would pre-conceived notions of debe the wiser. But a co-worker of viance affiliated with body art. mine was not as lucky; she was I encourage business owners forced to remove lip piercings to end this senseless, illogical, and the holes from these pierc- unquestionable law and move ings were obvious to anyone. forward with acceptance in She was a friendly individual, their establishments.
“Though I understand that piercings and tattoos used to be a sign of deviance, now they are widespread. Everyone from soccer moms to college students can sport a tattoo, so why do the negative connotations still exist? ”
HOOFNAGLE
The
Hylton HERALD
Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012
Volume 53 Edition 10
Cornell Bound? Young balla’ taking his talents to Cornell College. Follow me on Twitter @OneAndOnlyNacho
Sports Injuries: How much is too much?
Serious sports injuries have become the norm in athletics starting as early as middle school. It used to be that one only saw pro and college athletes tear ACLs and miss entire seasons due to injuries, but now it’s just as common to see injuries requiring reconstructive surgery in high school sports. This disturbing phenomenon brings a couple questions to mind: Why are these injuries becoming common, and who’s to blame for these injuries? Is it the athletes’ fault for not properly taking care of their bodies? Do the athletes have an unhealthy diet? Or is it coach’s Senior Hayden Shea is escorted off the field by teammates Dakoda Senior Randolph Bryan tore his miniscus during fault for not teachPepperling (98) and Nick deBuhr (22). Shea learned he had a torn the home opener. His leg required surgery, but ing proper technique? miniscus and MCL. Or is it just because he would return to the field a few weeks later. today’s athletes are A 2011 study conducted football playing days. Seau was getting bigger, stronger and by the Boston Children’s Hosfaster? “I think the best way to 43 years old at the time of his try and prevent injuries — es- pital concluded that in contact death. high school sports, concuspecially in contact sports — is The University of Pittssions were responsible for 15 for coaches to preach to their burgh’s Department of Neuplayers the importance of play- percent of all injuries. But hey, rological Surgery has released ing the game right way and not sports aren’t for the weak. Man a report. In 1984, two doctors playing dirty,” senior football up and play through the pain, studying sports injuries reright? Wrong. Failing to allow player Hayden Shea said. ported that a 19-year-old colthe injuries to be properly asLate in the semifinal round lege football player who had sessed or rushing to get back received a second concussion game against Cedar Rapids to game-ready can have seriXavier, Shea was taken to the while still recovering from the ous consequences. In some ground and sustained a torn original concussion had died MCL. Shea is not the only cases the more serious injuries and coined the term “secondcan even lead to death. player to sustain a substantial impact syndrome” (SIS). Since Medical advances are belower body injury. Teammates then, at least 26 deaths have ing made to try and prevent Randolph Bryan, Rayce Willett, been attributed to SIS, 20 of Rylee Willett, Riley Gardner and sports injuries, however. Every them occurring in the past 10 Brandon Corkery have all also year new technology can be years. had surgically repaired knees/ found in the newest line of Shea said that athletes unproducts. Most notably being ankles in the last 18 months. derstand the risks they’re takfootball helmets in their efforts The injuries that players ing when they decide to go to reduce concussions. But like these have had aren’t out for a sport. “I don’t think 19 perdent of all high school “rub some dirt on it” injuries. anybody wants to believe it, They’re very serious injuries football players have suffered but in the back of everybody’s with the capability to put ath- a concussion at one time. Mulhead they know that there’s the letes out of actions for month. tiple concussions can lead to possibility that they could be Chronic Traumatic encephalRayce, who suffered a torn ACL seriously injured. It’s all a part early this football season, is no opathy (CTE). CTE can lead to of competitive sports,” Shea severe depression and suicide stranger to going under the said. “Injuries aren’t something in older athletes. Former NFL knife. Last year he tore the ACL that’s just going to go away.” on his opposite knee at a Ne- linebacker Junior Seau, who took his own life in May, may braska football camp preparing Sports Editor Jared have had CTE as a result of his for the upcoming season. HYLTON
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