Oct. 3, 2013 Tiger Hi-Line

The

Tiger HI-LINE

Leaving the Nest: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

Volume 54 Edition 3

Powder Puff Juniors take down seniors in annual powder puff game/page 6 Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org

CFHS seniors begin making college decisions This fall, CFHS seniors have been constantly meeting with counselors, discussing college plans or otherwise, hoping to make the most out of their futures. For some students, their decisions are easy. They know exactly what college they would like to attend, in addition to what they would like to major in. Others are absolutely clueless, and for them, the stress is quickly building in their quests to plan for their futures.

For many students, cost is a huge factor in choosing which college to attend. With the rising prices of tuition, room, board and mandatory fees, this is not at all surprising. These continually rising prices make it more and more difficult to go to a school Above: The Panther Marching Band forms the letters UNI on the University of Northern Iowa football field (submitted photo) out of state. Because of this, students with less money have the University of Iowa, University creative writing and nursing. mental aspect of each college. dent preference plays a big role. less of a chance to be able to go of Northern Iowa and University Iowa State University has a Some students seek out enviSenior Holly Prohaska is curto their dream schools outside of Minnesota. She said that she strong mathematical and engironments completely different rently undecided on where she of Iowa, lest they have a huge wishes to go to a bigger pubneering background and is very than the communities they grew wants to go to college and what amount of debt once they finish lic school that has the major well known for its programs in up in, while others prefer simi- she wants to major in. She said college. For instance, at the Uni- she wants, which is elementary those fields. The University of lar environments. For instance, she believes that she will either versity of Northern Iowa, the to- education/ESL. It is a hard deNorthern Iowa is praised for its some students choose to go to attend the University of Iowa tal expenses are cision whether education and music programs. the University or Iowa State about $15,505 to go to school All in all, in state college deciof Iowa due to University and if you live in in state or out sions very much come down to its location in a plans to work the state of of state. “They what kind of education students bigger city and on her general Iowa. For those are all very nice would like to receive in whatever its reputation as education until coming to UNI schools that their major. the number one she decides on a from another have the major Senior Kathryn Wright is party school major. Then she state, their total I want, and I feel considering attending Kirkwood in the United said she might expenses are like all of them Community College for its proStates. Oppogo out of state about $25,001, will be a good grams. She wishes to major in sitely, a student for the rest of which is almost fit for me,” the culinary arts, and hopes to could attend her education. a $10,000 difKaufman said. attend Kirkwood because it is the University of Prohaska said ference and For seniors known for its culinary program. Northern Iowa, she wants to go does not even who only wish to Wright also said she hopes to which is based to a college with include the cost Jensen Kaufman Holly Prohaska go to college in attend a Le Cordon Bleu instituin a small city “lots of people of textbooks, tion, as it would and is more and diversity, transportation, or personal ex- state, thought help her further tame than the University of Iowa. very different from high school.” penses. It is practically the same is more speher culinary eduIn addition, the big three No matter how they are makin every other state. The Univer- cifically put into cation, helping Iowa schools (Iowa, ISU and UNI) ing their decisions, CFHS seniors sity of Minnesota charges those the programs her reach her have completely different safety are working hard to decide what who live in the state $25,124 themselves at goal of becomfactors. The University of North- college to attend. Whether they for tuition, while those who are each college. ing a pastry chef. ern Iowa has a lower crime rate receive help from counselors, from other states have to pay Each Iowa col“The biggest than Iowa State University, and their parents or anyone else, it is $31,374. These are huge differ- lege has spefactors in my colIowa State University has a lower a difficult decision that requires ences in prices, which typically cific specialty lege choice are crime rate than the University a lot of thought and makes a big leave many students to stay in programs. For their reputation of Iowa. Similarly, all colleges in impact on their future lives. They state, rather than exploring op- instance, the for their educaIowa have differing crime rates, are encouraged to look carefully tions at universities across the University of tion, the location which affect students’ college into every college they consider, United States.

Iowa has world and the classes,” decisions depending on how and they can only hope that, in Senior Jensen Kaufman is renowned reWright said. safe they believe they will feel the end, they make the correct Kathryn Wright one student who is looking into search proThe final fac- on campus. The basic fact is that decision. colleges both in state and out grams, in addition to first-ranked tor for those participating in no college will be exactly the

By Feature Editor Mallory of state. Her current choices are programs such as audiology, college searches is the environsame environmentally, so stu-

Vallentine

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Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

Our View

No Child Left Behind raises stakes to impossible levels We’re all individuals and we all learn in different ways and at different rates, so is it really fair that 94 percent of our schools have to be “above average” to meet the expectations of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)?

According to the New York Times, back in 2010 an estimated 39 percent of schools were not meeting the expectations of the law and therefore were considered to be failing.

The same article also stated that in 2011 out of 49 states, about 48 percent of the schools were failing.

That was nine percent higher than the year just before.

According to a different article by Joe Dejka, posted on omaha.com, it is said that “Statewide, 869 of 1,361 public schools failed to meet targets for test participation and proficiency in reading and mathematics in the 2012-13 school year.”

Now that means about 63.9 percent of Iowa’s public schools are “failing” according to the law’s standards.

That’s a very high number and with the percentage of how many students need to be “above average” changing to 100 percent next year, that number of failing Iowa public schools will most likely rise even higher.

The law was a good idea and had good intentions, but at this point it’s just setting nearly all the schools up for failure, as it is just too difficult and too much to ask nearly all of the students to be above average.

What is average if they expect us all to be above it?

What about the students that are not above average, because it takes them a little longer to understand and get a grasp of the material?

Another point is there are schools that reach these goals more easily due to their sizes or maybe their admission standards. In a school of over a thousand the chances of having about 940 students be above average is very unrealistic and highly unlikely.

Besides the impossible goals that the law sets at this point, what about the effects it has on people and students when they are told year after year that they are failing? Being told year after year, or even if it’s only one year, that you failed, are failing or are a failure is like a giant smack in the face.

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 Thursdays to read during their fifth period classes.

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 Monday for publication in the following Thursday 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: Martha Hall Feature Editor: Mallory Vallentine Opinion Editor: Ellen Wallingford Sports Editor: Austin Anderson Staff: Zuhayr Alam, Sara Ashar, Bailey Bartels, Kaleb Bengston, Kaitlyn Brocka, MacKenzie Dallenbach, Olivia Heath, Josh Peterson and Abby Young

Overblown

OPINION

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Media hype hiding real story on guns With more mass shootings happening around the United States, and now worldwide, the United States is pushing for gun control once again.

A day before Obama’s speech on Sept. 21, there was a major shooting in Chicago, prompting Obama to consult to Congress with yet another attempt at gun control. Problem is is that Chicago is a disarmament zone, therefore the gun used in the shooting was obtained illegally. The full-blown gun control in Chicago was a failure, as it is now deemed the murder capitol of the United States.

“We can’t rest until all of our children can go to school or walk down the street free from the fear that they will be struck down by a stray bullet,” Obama said in this speech to Congress. This is another example of a hyperbole used

by Mr. Obama. Now, he never states that gun crime has gone up, but as a result of the mass coverage and the demonizing of guns, many believe that gun crime has gone up.

Pew Research Center conducted a poll showing that a majority of poll respondents, 56 percent, told Pew that gun crimes have increased during the past 20 years, while 26 percent said gun crimes stayed about the same and just 12 percent correctly said the number of gun crimes went down.

Contrary to popular belief, according to usnews.com who reported on the Justice Department’s own numbers, the stats show that the number of firearm-related homicides has declined 39 percent from 1993 to 2011, and that non-fatal firearm crimes dropped 69 percent during the same period.

This does not include any military-related death or any legal or illegal death by police.

The United Kingdom in 1996 banned the ownership of guns, giving the same reasons that America is doing today.

New data from 2009 shows gun violence in the United Kingdom has increased by 89 percent in the past decade, making the 35 percent figure from 2002 insufficient. The latest United Kingdom govern-

By Kaleb

BENGSTON ment figures show that the total number of firearm offences in England and Wales has increased from 5,209 in 1998/99 to 9,865 last year; a rise of 89 percent. In some parts of the country, the number of offences has increased more than five-fold. Due to this, some parts of the United Kingdom are having their police forces armed with submachine guns. Britain is riddled with gang violence almost equal to America’s, but the difference is that in the United Kingdom guns are strictly regulated or banned, and the criminals still have them.

Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling, said that, “In areas dominated by gang culture, we’re now seeing guns used to settle scores between rivals as well as turf wars between rival drug dealers. We need to redouble our efforts to deal with the challenge.”

The point is that in the UK the majority of law-abiding citizens are unarmed against the crazed criminals who illegally obtained weapons. No counteracting force for the civilians is available, except police, and how many times has that been successful with the numbers presented?

Moving back to the United States, we know that there was a shooting in the naval yard in Washington, D.C. Aaron Alexis, the shooter at the naval yard, was a known schizophrenic, committed multiple gun crimes, such as shooting through the wall of his apartment at his neighbors who were being too loud, and shooting out the tires of a person who parked in his spot.

And yet he was able to retain a secret security clearance.

He went to the police many of times complaining of voices talking to him through the wall, but they didn’t do anything.

Finally he cracked and went to the naval base, which was a gun-free zone, and killed 12 people before the police had to raid a military base to take out a lone gunman.

On Sept. 21, a shooting happened off of American shores, in the African country of Kenya. Al-Qaeda sieged a mall, held it hostage, and killed 67 people, and 63 are still unaccounted for. Yet again, this Kenyan mall was a gun-free zone, and criminals got guns in and used innocent humans as target practice.

This is likely the worst mass shooting in 2013, but there’s a story many mainstream news stations either don’t know, or just don’t tell us. A former Irish army ranger was concealing a weapon in the mall, illegally due to the gun-free zone, but did a heroic act. He was just leaving the mall when the siege began, and he ran back inside.

He got to the parking garage under the mall, found 200 people hiding behind vehicles and escorted them out of the place, but then he ran back in and saved another hundred, and once done, the man, now joined by an ex-British army member used their medical training to help the wounded until the paramedics arrived.

“This man then spent three hours using his paramedical training to help the injured, including people who had been shot or hit by hand grenade shrapnel, and then turned restaurant tables into temporary stretchers to shuttle them to safety. His skills saved the lives of many. Eye witness accounts say he did an extraordinary job,” a friend of the Irish soldier said.

This hero is an example of how guns aren’t these evil objects that kill people, but a tool to help people, and as I stated earlier, gun crimes as a whole aren’t rising. Instead, they are steadily declining as of 2011.

On Sept. 24, John Kerry, secretary of defense, along with the president, Barrack Obama, went to an UN meeting in New York City. At this meeting, Kerry signed what was appropriately named the UN Arms Treaty. As he signed the document, Kerry called the See OVERBLOWN, page 5

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OPINION

Tiger

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

HI-LINE

Powerful web video shows texting can wait Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog wants to bring an end to texting and driving. In his powerful 35-minute public service announcement, “From One Second to the Next,” Herzog documents the stories of serious traffic accidents caused by texting and driving told by various perpetrators and their victims alike. This film shows how their lives were changed forever due to the mistake of pulling out their cellphones.

Among the film’s subjects are Xzavier, a young boy who was a victim of a texting and driving accident, and he is now paralyzed from the diaphragm down. In the film, his mother and sister talk about the struggles of everyday life due to one teenager’s stupid mistake.

Along with victims, Herzog knew it would also be important to point the camera at perpetrators of fatal accidents due to texting and driving.

One of them is Reggie Shaw, who killed two men while he was texting on a Utah highway. Shaw now speaks at schools about the dangers of texting and driving.

“The real essential thing is we have to see what is happening — and it’s not just an accident, not just the mechanics of an accident. It’s a new form of culture coming at us and it’s coming with great vehemence,” Herzog said on an interview for NPR Radio.

“From One Second to the Next”

“From One Second to the Next” Scene

Reggie Shaw reflects on the accident that resulted in the death of two scientists on their way to work.

Shaw was texting and driving when his car went over the center line and crashed head on into their car, which sent them spinning into an oncoming truck. His story and others appear in the powerful new 30-minute documentary from acclaimed director Werner Herzog. It’s available free on the Internet. has generated over 2 million hits on Youtube and has impacted many social media sites since its debut on Aug. 8. A 12-minute version of “From One Second to the Next” will be shown in 40,000 high schools this school year.

In addition to appearing on YouTube, the film can also be viewed at ItCanWait.com, where one can learn about the dangers of texting and driving and take a pledge to never text and drive.

Over 100,000 accidents a year involve drivers who are texting, and the numbers are climbing sharply. A text message is never worth someone’s life.

It can wait.

By Olivia

HEATH

Energy drinks have down sides to consider You look around a room of friends and you see someone with a Monster or a Red Bull. There are plenty of teenagers that drink energy drinks on a daily basis. They drink them because they make them feel awake and like that they can get through the day, but do they know what is in the energy drinks they have every day?

There is obviously caffeine in them, but caffeine and taurine have been mixed in energy drinks. The problem is that they haven’t yet studied whether or not the combination of the two is healthy or not. Taurine is an amino acid that is found in some energy drinks.

Taurine is used as a dietary supplement — it can help the body in regulating water and mineral salts in your blood.

However, more research needs to be done on the effects it can have in the long term. Different types of vitamin B are also found in energy drinks because they enhance muscular, metabolic, nervous and other bodily functions.

Now that you know something about what’s actually in the energy drinks, here are some pro’s and cons about energy drinks.

A pro is that they give you an energy boost (the main reason people drink en-

Caffeine Amounts

* An 8oz cup of coffee has 110-150 mg. *65-125 mg for percolated coffee. *40-80 mg for instant coffee. *Dr. Pepper has 41 mg.

ergy drinks in the first place) and sharpen your alertness as well. They can also help you when you exercise. They can

*A can of Coke has 34mg. * A full can of RockStar has 160mg. * A 16 fl. oz can of Monster has 160 mg. * A 8.46 fl. oz can of Red Bull has 80 mg.

help you to work out longer and possibly harder than you would have if you didn’t have that extra energy to help

you out. They are also widely available — sometimes people prefer to just grab an energy drink rather than wait for their coffee to be made. Energy drinks are easier than finding ways to slow down during the day. With an energy drink you can be energetic all day.

Now for the cons that nobody thinks about. For adults, energy drinks may make them more active and energetic, but if teenagers and children have the same amount of energy drink as an adult, it could have different effects.

Instead of feeling simply energetic, we could feel anxious and shaky. It can lead to high blood pressure and in some cases, behavioral problems. Also, drinks like 5-hour Energy make it seem like you’re actually taking in less than a normal energy drink, but it still has the same effects, or better, but it actually has almost twice the amount of caffeine as normal energy drinks. Energy drinks can also make you gain weight if you have more than one energy drink a day because of all of the sugar that’s packed into them. Gaining that weight from energy drinks could bring even more health problems to the surface.

By Kaitlyn

BROCKA

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Sports

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

HI-LINE

Juniors rush by Seniors, 6-0

This year the senior girls will graduate never knowing what a powder puff victory feels like after losing to the juniors by a score of 6-0. At top left and going clockwise, the players with the ball are senior Kaitlyn Morris, junior Brady Whitehill, Whitehall again, senior Kelsey Hansen and senior Kaz Brown.

Jackie Norman Photos