THE

Physics Bridge record shattered

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VOLUME 52 ISSUE 13

1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613

Student car catches fire from the fire department. “They are well trained Friday, Dec. 9, was routine as usual at putting out car until minutes before school started fires, and they when a red Ford Focus in the parkdid a nice job,” ing lot started smoking and burst into Stensland said. flames. Roethler had No one was injured in the shocking some perspecevent, and the fire fighters arrived four tive on the event minutes after they were called. The fire later in the day. “I was put out before it could spread to just didn’t know other cars, but not before completely what to think right consuming the red vehicle. away, but now I’m Students witnessed senior Hannah just happy that I Roethler emerging from the smoke, got out and that it shaky but unharmed. Karl Sadkowski Photo didn’t start while “When I went to get out of my car I was driving. I’m and I took the key out, all of a sudden Emergency crews arrived on Friday, Dec. 9 to put alive, so it doesn’t smoke started spewing out of the sides out the fire on senior Hannah Roethler’s car. The really matter,” cause of the fire is still under investigation. of the hood,” Roethler said. Roethler said. She got out of the car immediately, She didn’t go back into the car to components, and that’s what we are sensing danger. “And then, all of a salvage anything. Her iPod and phone going to do. From where we are at sudden, flames just started shooting were already on her. Roethler said, “I right now, we just know it started in out, so I called 911,” Roethler said. lost my debit card and my work shoes, the engine compartment and worked The fire fighters were able to put but those are replaceable.” its way into the inside of the dash of the fire out as soon as they arrived. Friday night she planned to get all the car,” Stensland said. They did not know Friday morning of her stuff out of the car that wasn’t Stensland warned that fires can what caused the fire. grow very quickly. “You see there how ruined, and then take the car to the Battalion Chief of the Cedar Falls fast it went from when she first discov- scrap-yard. Fire Department Roger Stensland said After this, Roethler will have one ered it, to where we’re at right here.” that car parts are hard to determine. thing left to do. “Now we just have to Stensland called the quick work of “You have to dig into some of the find me a new car,” she said. putting out the fire a “good response”

Maya Amjadi News Editor

Music students prepare for winter concerts Rhydian Talbot Staff Writer

Director Eliott Kranz will lead the men’s choir, women’s choir and concert choir in a joint holiday performance on Monday, Dec. 12, featuring music from a variety of seasonal celebrations. Traditional Christmas classics like “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Lo’ How A Rose E’er Blooming” will be showcased, as will cultural carols, like the Nigerian “Betelehemu” and a celebration of Hannukah, “Hanerot Halulu.” As per a CFHS choir tradition, the evening’s performance will conclude with a mass choir candlelit performance of a Christmas lullaby, “Still, Still, Still.” For an added twist, all three choirs are joining together with a full string and brass ensemble to perform the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.

“I think it’ll be an exciting performance for both the singers and the audience, because the vocalists will be combining with an orchestra set and everybody knows this piece,” Kranz said. The orchestra, under the direction of Scott Hall, will play a variety of combinations and genres on Thursday, Dec. 15. Featured instrumentalists junior Clarissa Sutton and sophomore Megan Tomson will be performing violin solos, the string orchestra will showcase multiple holiday-themed pieces, and the full orchestra comprised of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion will join in the festivities as well. “The string orchestra is doing a collection of selections that are Mannheim Steamroller arrangements. [Mannheim Steamroller] is a group that’s a fusion of rock and classical musical styles, so they’re somewhat

unusual. They take a lot of classic Christmas tunes and stylistically change them with a more rock feel,” Hall said. The wind symphony and symphonic bands, directed by Gerald Ramsey and Kyle Engelhardt, will present a secular winter concert on Monday, Dec. 19. Ramsey’s ensemble will perform such percussion-heavy selections as “Incantation and Dance” as well as pieces rooted in dissonance, like Eric Whitacre’s melodic “October.” Engelhardt’s students will pay tribute to the anniversary of Rosa Parks in “Today’s the Gift” and allude to the band’s upcoming spring break trip to Washington, D.C., with a piece entitled “Cenotaph.” All performance begin at 7:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The cost of tickets for each show is $4 for students and $5 for adults. Activity passes will be accepted.

Student group replaces Just Eliminate Lies Sandra Omari-Boateng Feature Editor

S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) has become the latest label for a group that focuses on prevention and education of drugs, alcohol and violence. The first group meeting was held after school on Nov. 16 to get to know new members and returning members from last year’s tobacco prevention group, J.E.L. (Just Eliminate Lies). The group meets once a month on Wednesdays. During the first meeting, the group members discussed the reasons why students attended the meeting and what they wanted to learn. The group also discussed concerns that they have about the student body. The group is led by counselor Josh Carnelley. In the past there were groups similar to S.A.D.D. named P.L.A.A.D and S.S.R, which stood for Students for Social Responsibility. P.L.A.A.D had focus on educating students about prevention and making positive choices in their lives. Last year, the state-run group J.E.L was introduced to students and caught on quickly. However, at the end of the year, state budget cuts of $4 million eliminated the group. J.E.L. had about 21 members in its group last year; this year S.A.D.D. has about the same amount, but the group is still in its beginning stages of coming together. S.A.D.D. is building upon the efforts of what J.E.L. started: trying to broaden students’ views in regards to other concerning areas like drugs, alcohol and violence. “My expectations are for the students to jump into this wholeheartedly and be a part of this group for the right reason. I’m supporting the group, but most of the work and ideas need to come from the students,” Carnelley said.

Dec. 13, 2011 hiline.nr.co

Opinion

Hang up the sweats, bust out the sweaters Lucas Hamilton Entertainment Editor

In a world where guys are typically wearing athletic shorts and flipflops with knee high socks, the fashionable few become the minority in an ever-changing society. It is a shame that the more men aren’t taking the risk of dressing up. Men’s fashion is not a bad thing. It can be as simple as throwing on a scarf and nice sweater or a button up shirt tucked in with some slacks. Ladies tend to like a man who looks good dressed up as well as relaxed. People need not to overdress themselves and go all out in a suit and tie. All that is needed is a nice, preferably soft, sweater, and somewhat dressy pants. People will dish out compliments as if some one is paying them to say flattering things. Most people will agree that compliments

our view

are pretty nice to receive. So why not take the chance and see what happens? Who knows, maybe one special lady will start to think of you as more than just that goofy boy and more as a man with a child side. Sweat pants and jeans are the most popular choice this time of year; it is cold outside so of course people will be bundling up. Now, I’m no stranger to sweat pants or jeans. I love wearing sweat pants on days when I just want to relax and stay cozy and warm. Don’t go home and burn all non-stylish things and upgrade that wardrobe. Just make a couple of new additions. With winter coming up, sweaters will be ideal to keep warm and fashionable. Fashion isn’t a universal thing. What people like to wear can differ from person to person, but things just need to be a little more elegant and classy. In general, people have gotten to be a little too lazy overall. That doesn’t mean that everyone is lazy or primitive in their fashion habits, it just means that as a whole, we could do more than just let our wardrobes slip off into a world of gym shorts and tank tops.

Yuletide cheer meets economy

SMH, wat we doin 2 r English? Karl Sadkowski Opinion Editor

Dear Self,

Though I cannot speak for others, I must note with regret the absolute shabbiness your English has descended into in recent years. It appears that with the coronation of the screen in society, you have mutated into some unintelligible beast with bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair, hovering over a keyboard while contemplating which grammatically incorrect and shallow statement will make a satisfying status update. I adamantly hold the opinion that bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair will not improve your chances for survival, and that status updates are superfluous. How could you, a conscientious individual, ever allow your level of communication to fall so deeply into the subterranean? I must recoil in disgust at your speech at times. I am taken aback by your arrant mistakes and intentional slang when you speak with your superiors, equals and inferiors alike. I without doubt put blame on the screen for these misfortunes, as it has trained you to express yourself without expression, instead replacing what may be beautiful or

Ah, yes. Christmastime is when people come together and forget their differences, exchange gifts and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. All is good. But some people wouldn’t buy (pun intended) this explanation. Advertising levels always defeat old records during The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year because sellers know this is when they can make the greatest profits. And why? This country runs on materialism. Like it or not, “having things” is one central player in this culture’s game, and when an excuse to spend money appears, many of us grab it and don’t let go. Our need to buy stuff may seem an insecurity, but it also presents its own great advantage from a larger perspective. The deeper purpose behind all this buying is that it helps our economy. Clearly, money flows are good. So when sellers bust out some of their greatest ads of all time and make money from them, one can safely conclude that the economy is benefiting as a result. An economic explanation for Christmas may seem sterile, yes, but let’s be realistic. Without such a momentous holiday, people certainly would not leave their homes en masse to buy each other stuff, all the while putting their dollars back into circulation. It’s a bit of a spark plug for an immobile economy.

elegant with “cool” or “hot.” I thus must sadly conclude that your conscience is shrinking, as you submit to the screen and adopt its colorless jargon. Before screens, would a person have needed to struggle to decipher your emoticon- and abbreviationladen statements? Before screens, could you have had the power to publish poisonous material to mislead readers? Before screens, were five-second sound bytes relentlessly pounding your ears and forcing your mind into a constant state of neuroticism? Certainly not. It is why, then, I have ceased to respect you. My passive resistance to your incessant habits will involve nothing less than paralysis, embarrassing you as you lose any ability to vocalize yourself with your primitive contemporaries. I will refuse to work as a secretary in your head any longer. Expression is rotting. Conscience is naught. Language is giving way to a voracious appetite for broken statements, returning ever closer to the original human speech of grunts and growls. Abandon the illusory benefits the screen advertises and purge yourself of the rubbish it feeds. Yours truly, Your misused tongue

Contact the Tiger Hi-Line

The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes of Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division St., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.co.nr. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Tuesdays to read in their free time. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Hi-Line or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial staff view is presented weekly in the editorial labeled as Our View. 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 the following Tuesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.

Editorial Staff

Editors-in-Chief: Sara Gabriele, Ellen Gustavson, Meg Lane News Editors: Maya Amjadi, Sara Gabriele, Chandal Geerdes Opinion Editors: Meg Lane, Karl Sadkowski Sports Editor: Jared Hylton Feature Editors: Ellen Gustavson, Sandra Omari-Boateng Entertainment Editor: Lucas Hamilton Hi-Line Online Editor: Martha Hall Staff Writers: Sarah Church, Lindsey Davis, Chase Eremieff, Mikayla Foland, Isabelle Hayes, Trevor Johnson, Kathrine Mayhew, Diamond Spann, Rhydian Talbot

Sports

Dec. 13, 2011 hiline.co.nr

Men’s swimming places 2nd at Marcussen Invite Meg Lane Editor-in-Chief

The men’s swim team definitely turned heads this weekend, placing second at the 32nd annual Marcussen Invite on Saturday. The invite is named in honor of the men’s and women’s head swim coach, Dick Marcussen, who has been coaching for 42 years at Cedar Falls. This year’s invitational has provided the team with many obstacles, including a small team and facing rivals like West Des Moines Dowling and Muscatine. “Big invitationals like this are a challenge this year due to our small numbers, but we are working hard to step up in all individuals places,” assistant head Coach Joe Brown said. And step up they did;

Meg Lane Photo

Junior Conner Clements backstrokes his way to a first place finish. junior Conner Clements won the 100-yard backstroke with a four second lead on West Des Moines Dowling’s Ruzicka David. Clements, along with junior Jake Sund and Waverly seniors Brady and Nick Stern, finished first in the 200 medley relay. Sund also helped the Tigers fight off competitors by finishing a half second ahead of Muscatine’s Michael Sovers in the 100yard breaststroke. Other returning letterwin-

ners like sophomore Gabe Langner placed third in the 200-yard freestyle, bringing the Tigers to a second place finish, just 66 points behind Dowling. Cedar Falls scored a total of 441.33 points, a huge success for a such a small team. Marcussen credits the team’s success to their preparation. “We train hard mentally and physically. You have to have the right mind set to

be able to be mentally (and) physically tough. That’s why we consistently practice and try to build off what we’ve done every year. The boys have made their goals clear, and they know exactly where they want to be as a team and individually,” Marcussen said. So far the team has plans to have the best underwaters at State, place in the top five at State and build team unity. “They want to be a complete team in every aspect, which includes explosive starts and turns, basically being fundamentally strong. We would like to be more efficient swimmers in the water. Wasting no energy and capitializing on other teams’ bad habits,” Brown said. The next men’s swim meet will be held at home at Holmes Junior High at 6 p.m. against Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Tuesday, Dec. 13

Tigers in Action

Athlete Week of the

Allie Wirth Women’s Basketball

1. How has the season been so far? It’s been going good. We have really good team chemistry and are working together really well. 2. How has the team improved this season? We know our offense more, and because of our improved chemistry, we know where everyone is at during the game. 3. How are you preparing for the season? We are taking it one game at a time and working on what we need to at the moment and not just looking at the big picture.

Tigers in Action

Meg Lane Photo

Anna Love Photo Anna Love Photo Bottom left, junior Imonee Qualls plays defense against Dubuque Senior on Dec. 9. Top left, junior Cole Plummer swims the breast stroke at the Marcussen Invite on Dec. 10. Right, Madeline Cheeney and the dance team perform at halftime of the women’s basketball game on Dec. 9.

MEN’S SWIMMING- Dec. 13 vs Kennedy 6 p.m. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL- Dec. 13 @ Linn-Mar 7:30 MEN’S & WOMEN’S BOWLING- Dec. 16 vs Dubuque Wahlert 3:45 MEN’S BASKETBALL- Dec. 13 vs Linn-Mar 7:30 WRESTLING- Dec. 15 @ Iowa City West 5:30 am

Feature

Dec. 13, 2011

hiline.co.nr

Holiday Hoopla lights up downtown Hoopla. This nearly monthlong event kicked off the Staff Writer Friday after Thanksgiving and Downtown Cedar Falls is a wonderful place to be. It has continues through December with weekly activities. many unique, cool shops to The kick-off day this year browse through, great restauwas on Nov. 25. People from rants to indulge at, a historic around the metro area flocked theater and as of Dec. 15, a to Main Street. Here, they new ice skating rink. were delighted with ChristCedar Falls Main Street offers so much, and during the mas music from various area singers. The anticipation of holiday season, Community Santa’s arrival could be felt in Main Street hosts Holiday

Lindsey Davis

the air. All eyes were turned to the sky at the end of the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” the hint that Santa was on his way. Finally, cheering broke out when a green and red lit helicopter was spotted. A Santa parade to the tree followed, which was soon lit, and the event ended with fireworks on the river. Mallory Rinnels, a junior, worked the first night of Holi-

Organization aids homeless Izzie Hayes Staff Writer

For most Iowans, the holiday season means big meals, time with family and receiving everything on their gift lists, but for the poor and homeless in the Cedar Falls/ Waterloo community, it is just another harsh reminder of what they cannot receive. The Eye of the Needle in downtown Waterloo gives the homeless in this community a chance to change that. Patricia King started this non-profit organization in November of 2006, at first operating out of her home, and each year since she opened, the amount of people coming to the Eye of the Needle doubles from last year’s amount. This year alone she has helped about 2,100 people. They provide basic need items to the people that come through: everything from beds to buying a work uniform for the people that come through and want to work but do not have the funds to purchase a uniform on their own. King operates out of the seventh floor of the First National Building at 607 Sycamore Street. She serves everyone from the homeless, to people

that have had their hours cut and just cannot make ends meet. The cost of her services is free to everyone that needs her help. The only requirements are minimal. “The people do have to fill out an application with their Social Security number. The things they need to get right then, they get, and the other things they need to put on the application, and we will notify them when we receive it,” King said. Running an organization completely on donations and grants can be a challenge, especially when they run low on certain things. King applies for grants with different organizations to help her pay the rent for her space in the building, and she still chips in a portion of her own money to cover all of the costs. However, King does her best to give the people on the receiving end of the organization the freedom to live their lives as if they are not economically struggling. “We try to give people the freedom to do what they want to do,” King said. With a whopping number of 24,000 people in Iowa alone that are considered

homeless, having the freedom to eat when one wants or to turn on the tap and get a glass of water are taken for granted. The people that come through The Eye of the Needle are grateful for the help in getting back on their feet. Over last decades, there has been a war going on in Burma, which is sandwiched between China and India. There are thousands of refugees that come to the United States and end up in our community. “There was a bunch of Burmese people that came through and gave back after they had received. They brought back baby food and strollers and were so grateful for our help,” King said. It is not hard to give, especially during this time of the year. It seems that everyone has more than what is really necessary. King needs a few things for the holidays: blankets, non-perishable foods with easy open tops, kids clothing and larger sizes also. “People are always welcome to come and visit. You can come and see what you have contributed,” King said

The Eye of the Needle 607 Sycamore Street Waterloo, (319) 215-6151

day Hoopla. Her mother owns a bridal store on Main Street, so she was asked to dress up as Cinderella for the night. “My favorite part was seeing the little girls faces when I was talking to them because they really think you are the real Cinderella. They were just so starstruck,” Rinnels said. On Thursday nights, patrons can take a trip back into the old days with a trolley ride

through the streets. Kids get the chance to send off their letters to Santa at the Santa Mailbox, located at Santa’s workshop. They’ll even get a response. On Friday, Dec. 17, Main Street visitors can catch an old Christmas flick for free at Oster Regent Theater. Downtown Cedar Falls is truly one of a kind. Holiday Hoopla can put even the most pessimistic Scrooge into the Christmas spirit.

Indestructable Bridge Seniors’ physics toothpick bridge breaks record, holds 128 pounds

Nathaniel Welshons (left) and Ian Abbot (right) hold their winning physic bridge last Thursday, Dec 8.