Nov. 15, 2019 Hi-Line

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Tiger HI-LINE Friday, Nov. 15, 2019

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Volume 59 Edition 8

Newly elected officials share plans

Mayor Green looking forward to ‘being just a little different’ Cedar Falls’ new mayor brings a bit of a different perspective to city government.

And that may just be a good thing.

Rob Green, the current city councilman who ousted incumbent mayor Jim Brown 55 percent to 41 percent last Tuesday night, is a librarian. “Having the ability to get information to the public is really important to me.

So it’s not just the council itself, but I’m looking forward to being a spokesman for the city with a librarian’s mindset. That’s my professional training,” Green said. “I’m looking forward to being just a little different than maybe sometimes mayors are, where I’m not going to try to sell the public on something.”

Green said he believes that Cedar Falls voters itching for change were a large part of why he was able to run for mayor and garner the support that he did. To illustrate this point, he goes back to the origins of his campaign.

“I first started getting asked about it [running for mayor] back in November of last year, and that’s when we talked about the public safety strategic plan and getting a lot more transparency around what the department was going to move toward.”

Did he always think he would win? “There’s no reason to run if you don’t think you’re gonna win. You always run to win, but I thought it was going to be a huge uphill battle.”

And an uphill battle it was, indeed. Not only was Green challenging an established two-term incumbent in Brown, fundraising reports that were released the week before the election showed Green being outraised by Brown by nearly three times; however, Green was right, and Cedar Falls’ desire for change carried him to victory by an astonishing margin.

But if you look back a few months, he wasn’t always so dead-set on the mayoral position. Green said, “I didn’t think that I could run because I really believed that mayor ser-

School Board members address range of questions Are you excited to serve on the school board?

Nate Gruber: “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to serve the community in a public service way. I’m finishing up my Masters in Public Policy and my background is in education, so school board is one of those opportunities that actually very neatly pulls those two interests together, and allows me to serve my community at the same time.”

What are you most looking forward to about this term?

Gruber: “I’m excited to advocate for policies that help students and teachers while keeping an eye on [the schools] on behalf of the community as well. Also, learning how the board functions. You have the public meetings, but there’s a lot more work that goes on behind the scenes and I’m excited to see how that process works.”

Susie Hines: “School finance is extremely complex.

Now I feel like I know, like, 1 percent. *laughs* I think [knowing finance] will be one thing that I look forward to. It won’t be as complex. It’ll still be complex, but it’ll be more

easy to manage.”

Hassman:”We’re gonna build a new high school. That’s definitely the most exciting thing happening over the next four years.”

Jenny Leeper: “I’m looking forward to the fact that we passed our high school bond, so we actually get to move forward with planning and visioning for how education can now look different for our high school students.”

What are your first priorities this term?

Gruber: “Not only advocating for students at all grade levels, whether it’s high school down to elementary, pre-k. But for me, coming from an education background, I really want to advocate for policies that will assist teachers. Your learning space, as a student, is also their workplace. If they can’t be effective in their workplace, then they can’t be effective educators.”

Hines: “It isn’t something that you can really have a personal agenda on… my whole premise I’ve been dealing with is that I want to keep people involved and keep people informed.”

Hassman: “[The new high school] is obviously a big pri-

ority. We’re going to spend an estimated $100 million of our community’s money building a new project, and that’s really important, but I think some other things that are important are that we always have to evaluate that everybody is being met where they’re at on the educational curve, and they’re challenged wherever they’re at on the educational curve.”

Leeper: “My priorities are looking at the issues of mental health and inclusiveness. As prevalent of issues those are becoming, I think it’s an opportunity for us as a district to really embrace those issues.”

What is one thing you wish students knew about your work on the school board?

Gruber: “The way we finance schools in the state of Iowa is probably one of the most complicated parts of being a board member. It can take a couple of years, maybe even most of a member’s first term to really get a good grasp of how that process works.”

Hines: “Most [school board members] are parents, but even if we aren’t parents, we’ve lived through K-12, we remember being teenagers.

We have your backs.”

Hassman: “There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. We’re an oversight, a governance board, an accountability board for the administration and those who are actually running the schools.”

Leeper: “It would be really helpful for not only our students, but our community at large to understand our role as a school board. We have very specific authority in terms of what we can and can’t do. If people understood our roles better, I think that would be helpful as issues of concern arise or we make decisions.”

Student Questions What is your opinion on standards-based grading?

Can the school board do anything about that?

Gruber: “My initial conception of it as I’ve seen it being in classrooms at Cedar Falls High School, it seems a little convoluted. I understand what they’re trying to do, they’re trying to really tie student achievement in classes to the standards that

vice and basically any elected office, whether it’s Congress or the state legislature, isn’t meant to be a career. It’s a temporary duty, almost like jury duty for a couple of years. You do your part, make the differences you can, and then you go back to your regular job.”

Green said he wanted to avoid becoming a career politician, but that wasn’t the only career he was worried about.

He said, “I was just really concerned that if I were to run for mayor, I’d have to give up my job at UNI, and then what if I didn’t get reelected in two years? I’d be looking for work again.”

Luckily enough for Green, a

solution presented itself soon enough for him to run. “I found out in about March that there was a state law that allowed you to do elected office and your employer had to keep your job open for you.”

Green ran, and he won handily, but what does that mean for the city of Cedar Falls going forward? Green said that his first steps as mayor include leading a deeper assessment of the PSO program.

“I really think we should have an outside expert group come in as a facilitator for building a five-year plan, something that may take six months or so for us to walk through.”

Green won’t commit to en-

tirely overturning the policy, however. “I think it would be premature to just jump in on day one and say it’s gonna be fire and police departments, no more public safety department.”

Green also said the city is planning on working toward making Cedar Falls more environmentally friendly, especially in the area of combating climate change. He said, “We’re currently working within the council on a climate change committee in order to see what sorts of direct actions can the city take in order to reduce our carbon footprint to be a more sustainable community.”

Another major initiative that

Green said is worth exploring is transitioning the position of mayor to a part-time role. “I’m in favor of it [transitioning to a part-time role] not because of the cost-savings or that it’s gonna be more efficient. I think it could be just as efficient to have a part-time mayor, but my main reason for wanting to go that route is to make it less likely that the mayor position is seen as a career. I would love to see more people able to run for mayor. There’s plenty of qualified, talented people in the city who aren’t considering running because they don’t want to give up their day job.”

By Staff Writer Ryan

See SCHOOL BOARD continued on Page 7

WESTHOFF

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Friday, Nov. 15, 2019

All-State winning bass one singer has lead role in Peter Pan prequel Artist of

The Week

SAM LUBS

Actor & All State Choir

Sam Lubs, a senior, has a passion for music and theater and openly shares his talents in both areas with the school. This year, Lubs is the lead in the fall play, “Peter and the Star-Catcher.” He also made All-State with quartet members Kellen Chenoweth, Haley Jaeger and Quay Burke.

Being a team player for his ensemble, Lubs made sure he was on top of his game going into All-State. “To prepare before I was put into a quartet, I made sure I was attending the rehearsals Mr. Kranz was holding after school, and I made sure I knew my music by the night of placements. It would have been a disservice to my quartet members to not have learned every piece before being placed with them,” Lubs said.

Lubs noted that preparations for All-State can be grueling and make for an especially long audition day. “The cuts every quartet will sing are released at 5 a.m. the day of auditions. That morning, we eat breakfast in Mr. Kranz’s house at 5:30, sing the cuts, drive to the high school to warm up and then get on the bus to go to Hampton at around 6:30. From the time we arrive until the time of auditions, each quartet prepares the way it needs to,” Lubs said. “By about 6 that night, vocalists will know if they made it into All-State or not.”

Even though the outcome was in their favor, Lubs said he was thrilled at the opportunity to work with his quartet members above all. “Interpreting the music and preparing for mock auditions was no problem, but one of our main issues as a group was retaining everything we had worked on.

Making sure we were focused during rehearsals was vital to our growth. I can’t speak for my other quartet members, but the time I had to spend with my quartet means so much more to me than the results of our audition. I’m so thankful to have

Alexis Hesse Photo

Senior Sam Lubs plays Peter in this weekend’s fall play “Peter and the Star-Catcher.” Lubs also recently earned his third All State as a bass one.

“I’m a musician because I love music. I don’t think there’s a simpler way of saying it. Singing in an ensemble has always been a passion of mine. Whether I’m performing it or listening to it casually, music brings me comfort, brings me joy and makes me feel at home.”

—Sam Lubs actor & All State choir member

been able to work with them,” Lubs said.

With a new atmosphere in the concert choir this year due to a larger class, Lubs said choir director Elliot Kranz has made the effort to build a “stronger sense of community” within the choir. “One of the ways he’s trying to achieve this is by taking three minutes out of rehearsal each day and dedicating it to a student to introduce themselves to the class. They can answer some prompt questions, give the class some basic information about themselves or talk about something else if they’d like,” Lubs said. “I’ve learned from my time in Mr. Kranz’s classroom that the stronger your community, both inside and outside of the classroom, the stronger your choir will be, and the stronger your eventual performance will be. These in-

troductions allow everyone to get to know the speaker just a little bit more. Whether the person speaking was nervous, confident, prepared to speak or just winging it, I enjoy hearing what everyone has to say about themselves, especially the people I know only by name.”

Reflecting on his time in the choir, Lubs is learning that each and every day is special. “I’ve learned not to take any of my time with friends, the choir and Mr. Kranz for granted. I’ve been singing with some of the people in concert choir for upwards of seven years,” Lubs said.

“Everything that we do in that classroom is too important to me to just let pass by because I know that in a year’s time I won’t be with the same people in the same choir, and it’ll take time to adjust. I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had over

the past two years, and I’m grateful for the time I have left at Cedar Falls.”

From his time at the high school, Lubs is going on to pursue a career in music, majoring in music education at Luther College after graduation. “Music has always been a huge part of my life. Whether I’m in the classroom or not, but my experiences in choir these past few years have helped me realize that this is something I was to continue to be a part of. I want to work with a choir of my own some day. I had never thought about going into music education until sophomore year. After I started expressing interest, Mr. Kranz gave me a few opportunities to test the waters,” Lubs said. “If it weren’t for Mr. Kranz, I would probably still be convincing myself that I wanted to go to Iowa State for engineer-

ing, not something I ever really wanted to do. Being in his classroom every day and seeing him work with his choirs was enough to make me interested in music education.”

Reciprocating the love, Kranz noted that Lubs is an essential leader, acting as the choir president. “He is a great kid, and many of the students look up to him and follow his lead in the choir room,” Kranz said.

As for the upcoming play this weekend, Lubs is ecstatic for the performance and also the sleep he’ll finally be able to get afterward. “I’m excited to perform. Our cast has worked long and hard, and after this week, we’ll be ready to put on the best show we can,” Lubs said. “I’m also excited for the nap I’m going to take after our show is over. It’s going to be a long nap.”

In this last week leading up to the play, Lubs said the final stretch can go one of two ways.

“In my experience, as the last week of a show approaches, the cast is either a) full of energy and ready to perform, or b) extremely tired of the show and can’t wait for it to be over,” he said. “Luckily, most, if not all of our cast is full of energy. Sure, we’ve had rough patches along the way. Every show has hiccups here and there during rehearsal, but we’ve all worked diligently, and we’re ready to give our audiences a good show.”

Getting into character, Lubs said he has to envision himself as Peter. “I do my best to put myself in Peter’s shoes. He’s an orphan, and he’s all alone. No friends, no family, no one to really care for him. Depending on the mood of the scene, his emotions might be different, and Peter’s character at the end of the show is certainly not the same as he was in the beginning, but I still find success in asking myself ‘How would he react if [this character] said [this line]?’ and reacting accordingly,” Lubs said.

“Peter and the Star Catcher” will run on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $4 for students and $5 for adults.

By Staff Writer Alayna

YATES

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FEATURES

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Abbigail Zaugg

Anastasia Davidson & Madison Vetter

Sami Zimmerman Julia Grey, Jackson Kliewer & Kathryn Lawson

Kathryn Lawson & Sam Lubs

Sabrina Leistikow

Ella Stineman

Shining Stars

Maddy Doeden

Dalton Blackford

Quay Burke & Julia Grey Alexis Hesse Photos

“Peter and the Star-Catcher” is the prequel story to Peter Pan. The play will run on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $4 for students and $5 for adults. Activity passes will be accepted.

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Book Love FEATURES

Two time Newbery Medal winner and beloved children’s author Kate DiCamillo has recently been sharing her notable author-reader encounters on her Facebook page. From young children and their parents to grown adults, many have shared how this spectacular author has changed their lives through reading.

One of these encounters was with a peculiar young woman at the end of a signing event, reminiscing over one of DiCamillo’s most notable stories, “The Tale of Despereaux,” a story of a lonely mouse who finds a love for reading amidst his quest of saving a sad human girl, a princess.

“On Friday night in Saratoga Springs, New York, at an event with Northshire Books, the last person in the line was a young woman who became a reader because a substitute teacher read aloud to her class from ‘The Tale of Despereaux,’” DiCamillo said. “This woman came all the way from Arizona for the signing that night. She told me her story, showed me her tattoo (of Despereaux standing atop a pile of books) and I was truly speechless. All I could think to do was to stand up and hug her—one reader to another.

Stories are light. And also, can I say? This woman is a reader because someone read to her.”

DiCamillo hadn’t known this woman personally previous to this meeting, but now, because of one story, they were connected in a way by a single phrase, “Stories are light.” This also points to the importance that children, people, everyone, must be read to. Connections can happen by chance. This woman could have walked by this book a thousand times before, but because that one teacher stepped up and took it into their hands, taking the time to read it to the class, this special moment was able to happen.

Another such meeting happened a few weeks previous in another signing line.

“At the Barnes and Noble in Frisco, Texas, last Saturday night, Elijah was the book-

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While on tour, author uncovers tales of readers’ connections

Kate DiCamillo Photo

While on a book tour, two time Newberry Medal-winning author Kate DiCamillo discovered a number of stories in which her book “The Tale of Despereaux” had made life changing impacts on readers.

“This woman is a reader because someone had read to her.”

—Kate DiCamillo two time Newberry Medal-winning author

seller who assisted me in the signing line. Every time Elijah handed me a stack of books, he smiled at me—a radiant,

beautiful smile,” DiCamillo said. “And when we were done, he handed me his own books—the ones he had read

when he was a kid—for me to sign. He told me that ‘The Tale of Despereaux,’ in particular, really mattered to him.

He was small for his age when he read it. The book, he said, let him know he was capable of heroic acts, no matter his size. ‘You smiled at me every time you handed me a book,’ I said. ‘Is that why?’ ‘That’s why,’ he said. There he was— this grown man—standing in front of me, smiling. I could see the boy he had been.

I was so grateful to be connected to him by a mouse, a story, books.”

Another wonderous connection had been made. This man was able to connect with DiCamillo’s character in such a personal way that it impacted the way he saw that story to this very day. While this collection may be small (pun not intended) it was just enough to bring this young man into the story in a way that influenced his outlook on both the book and his own life, hinting at the power that words have on readers of all shapes and sizes.

Once again, DiCamillo was met with a pair of readers pondering over their connections with “The Tale of Despereaux.”

“In Doylestown, at a signing with the Doylestown Bookshop, a mother and son come through the line with a copy of ‘The Tale of Despereaux.’ Mother: My son read this book first. And then he made me read it. Me (to the boy): Is that true? Boy: Yes. Mother: I’m not a reader.

But I read this book, and then I just kept right on reading.

I’m a reader now! Me: So, your son turned you into a reader? Mother: Yes. Me (to the boy): What a gift. Thank you. Boy: I just liked the book a lot and I wanted her to like it, too.”

Such a short meeting with these readers, but the impact was clear. People can say they’re not “readers” but like someone once said, they just haven’t found the right book yet. In this situation, because of her son, the mother had been shown the light, the feeling of finally finding the right book.

“That’s what it’s all about,” DiCamillo said. “That’s everything.”

By Online Editor Skylar

PROMER

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Friday, Nov. 15, 2019

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Three high school teachers recognized in annual Veterans Day assembly Math teacher Richard Strike is currently in his 34th year with the Iowa Army (National Guard). He has been a helicopter mechanic, helicopter pilot, Tac Ops officer, Warrent Officer Candidates School Instructor and is now the commander of the Warrant Officer Candidate School.

On Veterans’ Day, Strike said he feels, “A sense of pride mostly for my family that has served before me and especially for my immediate make for me to serve. [It’s] a reminder of what it took (and currently takes) for them to be able to do what they do.”

Senior Chris Sells was one of the JROTC members who helped to post the colors at the Veterans Day assembly on Monday, Nov. 11.

Marissa Johnson and Sophia Schillinger Photos

Rich Strike

Army National Guard

Kevin Stewart Marine Corp

Caleb Wallace Army Reserves

Social studies teacher Kevin Stewart served with the marine corp for four years between 1983 and 1987. He did his basic training in San Diego and his infantry training in California. His NAS ( Naval Air Station) was a naval base in Maine, FMF ( Fleet Marine Force). He went to Okinawa where his battalion was, and he spent three and a half months in the Philippine Islands. With the NAS, Stewart was with special security forces in the North Atlantic and supported the capa-

Marble Magic These nails are a classy representation of a shiny marble floor, countertop or pillar, and are easier to do than they look.

The secret weapon to achieving this lovely nail art design is a twin tip black Sharpie. Yep. Plus some rubbing alcohol and acetone nail polish remover.

Keep reading to see how I painted this design on my nails.

By Staff Writer Myra

Things you’ll need:

Base Coat (Essie Strong Start Base Coat) White Polish (OPI Alpine Snow) Top Coat (Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat) Black Twin Tip Sharpie Rubbing Alcohol (Preferably in a spray bottle) Small Paint Brush Plastic Lid or Dish (For Mixing Sharpie Ink) Acetone Nail Polish Remover Q-tips (For Cleanup)

STINEMAN

Steps to Success:

1. Apply your base coat and let dry.

2. Paint all of your nails white and let dry.

3. On the bottom of the plastic lid or dish, scribble with the fine tip side of the Sharpie.

4. Spritz some rubbing alcohol over the Sharpie ink to make a thin purple watercolor solution. Stir the solution with the small paintbrush.

5. Paint the solution onto different parts of your nails, being sure to leave some of the white polish showing. You can be messy with this.

bilities of a P3 Orion Air Search Destroyer, When he was in the Philippines, he tracked and in a sense hunted a group known as the MPA (Muslim People’s Army) who were trying to overthrow the government of the Philipines. He would track for the Filipino military.

For Stewart, Veterans Day is “A day to celebrate what is and all that is done by veterans and what the families of those soldiers have to go through, to also remember those how have lose their lives or were missing in battle and weren’t able to come home and celebrate what veterans do for us. Veterans past, present and future are the people who are the small percentage that are willing to go out and look out for us and protect us. It is also good for civilians to recongnize that and respect that.

After the school assembly, Stewart said, “I hope [students and staff] have learned now not only respect for what the flag has to say and that they walk away with a better understanding of what a veteran is, what a veteran maybe goes through and that they can then obviously better respect them in

public as well as in what they do for them.

Special needs teacher Caleb Wallace served in the United States Army Reserves B Co 389th Engineer Battalion from 1997-2006. He drilled in Decorah and served Iraq/ Kuwait as part of OIF/OEF in 2003-2004. Some other places that he trained in were El Salvador, Guatemala, Germany, Qatar and a number of bases in the United States. His job title was 62J, a small/heavy equipment operator. When he deployed, he worked on base camp construction/improvements, and during summer camps he worked on U.S. base construction projects.

“It is important to remember the sacrifices that veterans have made and continue to make to protect and keep Americans safe. On Veteran’s Day I thank other veterans for their service. I hope students are able to take from the assembly that many people have sacrificed in order for them to enjoy the freedoms that they have today.

By Staff Writer Aaliyah

TOURNIER

Follow these steps for salon quality effects

2 3

For an alternate design, try using different colors of Sharpie to create a watercolor effect.

4

5 6

6. Take the Sharpie with the ultra fine tip and draw squiggly lines in the purple on your nails. Think of a tree branch when drawing these. You can be messy with this, too.

7. Take your small paint brush dipped in acetone nail polish remover and pat the bristles over the black lines. Be ex-

8 tremely careful with this step, as you don’t want to remove the white polish underneath. This should blur the lines and give it the look of marble. Let dry.

8. Apply top coat, let dry and enjoy your purple marble nails!

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OPINION

Our View Withdrawl from Paris Treaty destroys U.S. climate credibility On June 1, 2017, President Donald Trump said something that rocked the environmentalists to their core. As of today, the United States will cease all implementation” of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Although this was not news to the world since Trump announced the day he was elected that he would leave the Paris Agreement, calling it “horrible, costly and one-sided,” it was still rattling hear an official statement.

In Paris on Dec. 12, 2015, the UNFCCC came to an agreement to accelerate their actions to get closer to a low carbon future. At this time nearly 200 countries signed onto the agreement. Wealthy countries like the United States even agreed to help pay for the costs associated with climate change for the developing countries.

The goal of the agreement is to “strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reported.

Upon entry, each country makes a national pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as setting its own goals. The agreement also requires that all parties in the pact “report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.”

The United States signed on initially with other countries in 2015, but will officially be out of the agreement on Nov. 4, 2020, making it the only country to pull out of the pact. This is very ironic because the United States is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the only nation to abandon the global effort to combat climate change.

Since the pact was created, many international superpowers, including Brazil, China, Japan and India have experienced political or economical turmoil, but none of these countries have withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Although it takes two years to officially be removed from the Agreement, the Agreement was designed so a party can rejoin within 30 days after they leave. This means that in 2020, if Trump leaves the White House and a new administration takes his place, the next president could make it possible for the United States to quickly rejoin.

“We will continue to work with our global partners to enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change and prepare for and respond to natural disasters,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

This statement contradicts the action the United States took by stating that they will be exiting the Paris Climate Agreement. On top of that, instead of having a set of guidelines and steps to follow to reach a certain goal, the United States now does not have a set goal in writing, and their steps can be very subjective to who is in charge and what his or her view is.

By the United States leaving the Paris Climate Agreement it makes the statement that political values/views and money are more important than collaborating with other nations, the world’s future, the safety of the Earth, humans, plants and animals and life itself.

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 Fridays to read during their third 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 Friday edition. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Writers should include their contact information for verification.

Editor: Sophia Schillinger Staff: Alexia Downs, Kaitlyn Harris, Quandas Jackson, Ashlyn Keve, Kendall Masalak, Alyssa Nelson, Skylar Promer, Chloe Schuerman, Myra Stineman, Aaliyah Tournier, Justine Yang, Ryan Westhoff, Alayna Yates

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Taiber memorial honors his impacts The world lost an amazing son, brother, cousin, grandson and friend in Gilmore Nicholas Taiber when he died in a car accident on May 30, 2019. Taiber was heading north on Leversee Road when the car went into an east ditch, causing it to roll. He was thrown from the car. He was an athlete, took advanced classes and had the funniest personality. He was the sunshine we all needed on a cloudy day, but most importantly he was the sweetest human.

“The Gil Taiber Scholarship Fund is an annual scholarship awarded to one high school graduate from either Waterloo East, Waterloo West, Cedar Falls High School, Janesville High School or Waverly-Shell Rock High School.

The recipient will have maintained at least a 3.85 GPA (like Gil), participated in high school-related sports or other activities all four years (like Gil), and worked a job all four years of high school (like Gil),” said Emily Allaire, Gil’s mom.

The fundraiser was not only held for the scholarship. It was also held to raise the awareness of the importance of wearing seatbelts while driving, as Gil wasn’t wearing

a seatbelt. The Gil Taiber Scholarship Fund shows the hard work, dedication and passion Gil had.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to a graduating senior from an area high school who shares these qualities.

The event in honor of Gil was held at the Octopus on College Hill on Sunday, November 10, 2019, starting at 3:00 pm. As I walked into the event, I handed the bouncer $10 that went toward the Gil Taiber Scholarship fund, and then I received a green bracelet for the Iowa Donor Network.

The brilliant boy loved by hundreds saved over 200 Iowa Donor Network patients when they benefited from his gifts.

The bands for this year’s fundraiser festival were Jordan Sellergren, Katie and the Honky Tonks, The Cover UPS, Tommy Kelly and Dave Zollo.

“After Gil died, his family, friends and community began to give money in Gil’s name to a memorial of some kind. While it’s customary to accept this money and put it toward funeral expenses, we decided to start The Gil Taiber Scholarship Fund instead. Because

college tuition continues to rise, we want to keep Gil’s legacy going year after year, raising funds as a family, with our friends and our community, to help students afford college expenses. We worked closely with the staff at the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa (CFNEIA) to develop the criteria of the scholarship. CFNEIA also holds the funds in an endowment that continues to grow with interest in addition to the funds we raise,” Allaire said.

A Facebook page created

by Matthew Dunning has alone raised over $13,000. Along with the generous donations, T shirts and sweatshirts were also sold at the event, which brought in a lot of profit too. As college tuitions rise, it is the goal of Gil’s family to help those who show the gifted talents that Gil possessed.

Gilmore Taiber, you are loved by many, and may your kindness live on through us all. Thank you for blessing us all with 17 years of pure greatness as we all got to see you succeed. Fly high 44.

By Staff Writer Chloe

SCHUERMAN

Robotics trip inspires winning spirit The robotics team 525 Swartdogs left school early on Saturday, Nov. 1 in order to drive to Kansas City for an offseason regional game called Cow Town ThrowDown.

Lee’s Summit High School’s robotics team 1986 Team Titanium hosted a regional using last season’s game Deep Space. Fifty teams showed up to this event ready to compete.

A benefit to this event was that it taught freshmen and new members to FRC how a regional game goes. As a freshman, I learned all sorts of new things during the weekend.

Something I learned was that scouting out other teams is exceedingly important to the gameplay. If our team advances to quarterfinals after the qualification matches we need to know which

teams work well with us to choose our alliance, so having a spreadsheet full of what every team can do helps.

On the first day of the weekend-long game I was given the job to take a photo of every team’s robot for scouting and record all of our team’s matches for the archive.

This caused me to witness how all of the other teams work on their robots, and I had the chance to meet some new people.

The second day I was told to observe how all of the teams blocked their opponents. I was told to write down if they were being aggressive, if they are able to completely stop the other alliance from scoring or if they get any penalties. This allowed me to see how teams interact with their opponents. It also showed me if they knew the rules on how to properly

block.

Our team only managed to get to the semifinals, but it taught me a huge lesson on gracious professionalism, which is a big thing in FIRST. Despite not winning, I felt proud of my team for getting so far and was excited to see the other teams play the winning match.

The whole weekend was full of cheering for our team and insanity. I am glad to get this experience before an actual regional game during the season so when it comes around I can get to work without any training and possibly help out even newer members.

This offseason game is a chance for new members to come accustomed to the controlled chaos that is an FRC event.

By Staff Writer Ashlyn

KEVE

What’s your favorite cheer at high school games?

By Staff Writer Kendall

MASLAK

“My favorite was ‘What, What, What, What ...’”

—Emily Fleshner sophomore

“‘CF, Tigers’ (clap, clap, clap).”

—Samantha Spratt senior

“The one I remember is ‘What, What, What ...’”

—Angela Randall sophomore

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SPORTS

Sophia Schillinger Photo

Signing Day

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, six senior athletes held a public signing day with the universities they have committed to compete for: Alayna Yates in volleyball with the University of Dayton in volleyball, Jack Moody with UNI in golf, Mackenzie Michael with Oklahoma State in track, Laurnen Lilly with Mount Mercy in volleyball, Emerson Green with UNI in basketball and Akacia Brown with Mississippi State in volleyball.

Football season ends in quarterfinal, 24-14 Ending there season with the record of 10 - 1, the football team’s season ended in the quarterfinals against the Bettendorf Bulldogs on Friday Nov. 8.

After the first quarter of the game, the Tigers and the Bulldogs alternated touchdowns, and the game ended with a score of 24-14.

Senior Jakob Weichers said, “I think we all played as best as we could, but when you put two good teams in a playoff game, anything can happen.”

A lot of team members said they could have left more out on the field and felt sad knowing that this was their last game of the season.

Senior Aaron Nieman said, “Having school that Friday

I feel would’ve changed the outcome of the game for us. It would’ve kept us in our normal routine, which would have an effect on the preparation we had for the game.”

The season closed prematurely, it wasn’t just about winning games for those on the team. It was about the bonds they grew with their teammates and the coaches who taught them.

Senior Ben Sernett said, “The biggest thing I’m gonna miss is my teammates. All of the team meals and good laughs were the best part of football. Just not being around all of those guys I’ve played with for many, many years will be tough.¨ Their memories remain

SCHOOL BOARD/ Continued from Page 1 teachers are being assessed on. With it being the first year, I think it may be too soon to tell.”

Hines: “We [the school board] don’t have any [authority over grading policy] ... For parents with kids that are coming up into it, it’s sort of a transition for a lot [of people]. I’m not big on grades, as a parent myself. I want a kid to know, but I’m not striving for a child that needs to have all A’s.”

Jeff Hassman: “I don’t think I have the expertise to go in and say ‘you should use this grading system.’ I’m more interested in measuring results … I think there are still some things that need to be worked out. One of the basic reasons that the high school moved that way is that we would have students that would leave the high school with really high

GPAs, and they’d get to college, and they’d crash and burn, so we came back to ‘Hey, we want everyone leaving to be successful’ and so something about what we were doing wasn’t working.”

Leeper: “[The school board] really relies on our teachers and administrators to make those kinds of decisions. We are not the experts in those fields, so I think for us to come in based on opinions would be inappropriate of us as a school board ... I am in favor of standardsbased grading. I think we are doing the right thing. I think it has been very well studied.”

What are you planning on doing to make Cedar Falls schools more environmentally friendly places?

Gruber: “I would advocate for things that allow reducing and recycling when pos-

as well, including practicing in the snow, looking for their coaches wedding ring on the field after practice and winning an extremely close game with Ankeny.

Sernett said, “One of my greatest memories from this season was against Ankeny during week 3. Ryan Ostrich squeezed through the line to convert on 3rd and 10 that sealed the game. That feeling after the final horn rang was indescribable.¨ Senior Bryce Albaugh remembered, “Scaring every teammate on Scrimmage Day by hiding in an empty garbage bin as they walked in the locker room.”

By Staff Writer Aaliyah

TOURNIER sible. I’d push for the new high school to be as environmentally friendly as possible, looking at various environmental certifications.”

Hines: “A lot of communications go on through CFU. We’re in a working relationship with them regarding what options are out there, and what’s feasible for a district.”

Hassman: “We’ve certainly taken this into consideration on the remodels and the high school. We have to weigh costbenefit. For example, if you want a net-zero [emissions] building, we wouldn’t be able to pay for it with current technology. We have to try and anticipate what new technologies are gonna come that will enable us to reduce energy consumption and to become more efficient in the future.”

Leeper: “I know with our new buildings we are making sure that we are making good long-term decisions in terms of the mechanical systems we’re

First Round Down

Marissa Johnson Photo

Setting up senior Jada Golden-Smith on way to the Tiger’s quarterfinal victory over Waukee on Tuesday is senior Emerson Green. putting in, the materials we’re using ... I know that with the new high school we have lots of people on a committee who will be consultants on environmental practices that we can employ. We do have board representation on that committee. Being environmentally efficient is very important to us.

It makes sense not only for the Earth, but financially it makes sense because we save money as a district.”

What is the school board planning on doing to help students with mental illnesses?

Gruber: “I would be in favor of more access to mental health services for all students at no matter what age. I believe that we could certainly look into more policies because more can always be done.”

Hines: “I know that we’ve been able to add some staffing. It seems like every year we’re trying to build in more resources for students. And, let’s face it, for the staff, too. It’s all

something that we need to be focused on.”

Hassman: “We never have enough money. You’ll hear that for everything, but we already have some support there for mental health. We just need to figure out how we can prioritize and make sure that students who need it are going to get the attention they need.”

Leeper: “The legislature and the federal government are really not rewarding us with the funding to combat those issues as we need to. I think it’s an opportunity for us to step forward and be creative in some ways that we can offer support for those things. What I would like to see us do is work with our student organizations that already exist to see how we can better support those organizations. I also think we need to continue lobbying our local legislators.”

By Staff Writer Ryan

WESTHOFF

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Volleyball team members take notes during visit with retired teacher

Athlete of the

Week

Editor’s Note: This story marks the first in a series we’re calling Senior Says, in which we interview some of the more senior citizens to pick up some of their tips for teens.

Dixie Unangst, a fouryear resident of New Aldaya, sat down and chatted with the CFHS volleyball squad when they volunteered to play board games with the residents on Nov. 6. With the nickname “Trouble,” Unangst was surely a treat for the team to talk to.

Unangst grew up as the daughter of two school teachers. Her dad, an orchestra and band teacher, taught her how to play the violin in the second grade.

Carrying that hobby with her, Unangst played in the UNI orchestra as she too studied to become a teacher. Unangst then proceeded to teach for 15 years over the course of her life while being a stay-at-home mother when her children were growing up.

After retirement, Unangst proceeded to give piano lessons in Denver.

When talking to the team, Unangst explained how one student’s family took interest in her violin. When picking up one of her students from a piano lesson, Unganst said that the “grandma” of the student asked to see her great grandfather’s violin, the one that she had learned to play and used all through college. When the woman asked, Unangst agreed to let her take the violin home to show their family, promising to bring it back the following day.

Since that day about nine years ago Unangst said she’s never seen that violin again. “I’ve always wanted to run an ad in the Denver, Iowa, paper and say, ‘How’s my violin doing? Are you practicing it well?’” Unangst said. Still a jokester, Unganst laughed at the memory and the team joined in.

On top of being a piano teacher after retirement, Unangst said she would

EMMA CLARK Swimming

Submitted Photo

Members of the volleyball team (top from left to right, freshman Nohea Mahi, junior Emmy Wedgbury, sophomore Anisia Smith and ottom left to right senior Alayna Yates,and senior Kacia Brown recently picked up some wisdom from New Aldaya resident Dixie Unangst.

“The computer, forget it. That’s all they do in the schools nowadays is do the computer.”

—Dixie Unangst retired teacher

tutor students. Deeply invested in the overall wellbeing of her students, she said seeing their growth was a real treat. “I wanted them to succeed. To me, that was so important,” Unangst said. With a similar philosophy when she was teaching, Unangst said seeing students develop was always a thrill. “My favorite memory from teaching was how well students who had a hard time succeeded and applied what they learned.

That was, I think, the most important,” Unangst said.

Remembering how her teachers taught her in high school, Unangst learned from poor example. “I learned by the way they taught there what should be done differently. Consequently, I really didn’t learn a lot in high school,” Unangst said.

Instead, with a very modern look on teaching, Unangst said that each child deserves to be educated like the independent thinker’s they are. “Every student, you will find out, is different. They think different, they do different, so you have to help them in different ways,” Unangst said. It’s not always easy though, the former teacher added. “I’ve been recognizing how they [students] are and what they do and everything and then you can work. It takes a lot of thought,” Unangst said.

Even though she disagrees with the way her former teachers taught her, Unangst does believe that students need to learn the old-fashioned way with paper and pen. “The computer, forget it. That’s all they do in the schools nowadays is do the computer,” Un-

angst said. “You never know what the world is gonna turn into, and if you [don’t] know how to write and talk right or whatever, then you’re lost.”

Sharing her advice with the senior volleyball players, Unangst said that the soon to be graduates still need to finish the year strong. “Sometimes when you’re seniors, you kind of cheat and do the amount of work you’re supposed to do just so you get done with it and it’s finished. Don’t do it that way,” Unangst said.

Leaving the volleyball team with one last bit of advice, Unangst reflected on some hardships she’s endured in her life, one of them being her vision. With 100 percent glaucoma in her right eye and 60 percent macular degeneration in her left, Unangst said life can be testing. Offering advice for the state bound volleyball team, Unganst said, “Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up. No matter what happens to you down the road, you stay with the Lord, and you don’t give up.”

By Staff Writer Alayna

YATES

When did you start swimming competitively?

I started swimming when I was 7, so I don’t really remember my first meet ever, but I’m sure it wasn’t too great. Although I do remember my first high school swim meet, and it went pretty well. I was really nervous swimmer.

How does it feel when you go up against a team who’s better than yours?

It’s pretty exciting in my opinion, knowing you have someone to race and make you better.

Who got you interested in swimming?

I got into swimming pretty young when my mom thought she was just signing me up for really good swim lessons, not club swimming, but ever since then I’ve stuck with it.

What’s one of your most memorable moments?

Freshman year I got 4th in the 50 free, and that was a really exciting thing for me, placing so high at my first high school state swim meet.

Has there ever been a time when you became uninterested in your sport or bored?

Yes, nearly every season I go through a period of dreading going to practice. I spend so much time at the pool it gets really tough to make myself go there every day and work hard.

Especially for 5:30 a.m. practice.

Have you ever won a championship? If so how did it feel?

Our team has never won the championship meet overall, but personally, I have won an event at State. It was a great feeling.

Swimming is a lot of work; getting the pay off is awesome.

How did it feel getting youŕ first victory?

It was a really good feeling, all my hard work paying off.