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Students showcase a spectrum of opportunities The Spectrum Project, put on by many children throughout the Cedar Valley through UNI at the Gallagher Bluedorn in Sunday April 6, showcases diversity and gives kids a chance to embrace their learning disabilities. Children and adults alike are able to help connect the community through this opportunity. “My sister (a student at UNI) has absolutely loved being a buddy to a Spectrum performer for the last three years. I hope people who are reading this and are planning on going to UNI will really think about being a buddy because it’s a life changing opportunity for not only the child, but for the college student as well,” senior Claire Sanderman said. Hannah Sanderman, sister to Claire and former CFHS student, uses the Spectrum Project to give back to the community and narrow in on her career choices as well. “I have been a buddy for the past three years. A buddy, or college student, gets paired up with a performer, a kid every year. Being a buddy has been a constant in my college career, and I am so grateful to be a part of the amazing community that the Spectrum Project provides,” Hannah said. By showcasing the different elements of the children involved in the Spectrum Project,
On Sunday April 6, children and adults gathered to put on the Spectrum Project, a talent show to highlight diversity. the community was able to get a better sense of the message of joy and togetherness. “My favorite part of the show is seeing all the kids’ excited and proud faces when they’re on stage. They just look so joyous— the audience can’t help but smile when watching them. I think the way they split each age range into different color groups (like red, yellow, green, etc.) is a very smart idea because then the kids feel comfortable with their groups because they’re sur-
rounded by kids their own age,” Claire said. “As an audience member of the Spectrum Project for the past three years, I think each audience member takes away a feeling of hope and happiness because that is what the show continually shows through its skits, dances and songs.” Hannah, while not in the audience, also credits the project with life lessons and happy memories. “Being a part of the final show is one
to develop the skills you need to keep on going with music.” This consensus is shared with most, if not all, jazz players. Muñoz said, “The best part about jazz is the feeling of community that you get when you spend so many hours with each other.” Jazz One had the unique opportunity of having not one but two songs commissioned for them this year. The first being “Dangerous Times” by Chris Merz and the second was “Battle Cry” by Ryan Kisor, arranged by Steve Shanley. Sophomore Eli Smith said, “Playing ‘Dangerous Times’ by Chris Mertz, and ‘Battle Cry’ arranged by Steve Shanley, was an amazing opportunity because we were the first ones to play the tunes, leaving it up to us to interpret lots of things about the tunes.” This year’s Jazz One is made up of many seniors, something that will have a drastic effect on the dynamic of the band. However, this is not a daunting subject for any of the players. In fact, many of them embrace the change that is going to come. “We’re losing a few very important leaders from our group, so it’ll be interesting to see different people stepping up and into those positions,” Muñoz said. “It does feel like a part of you is going to be
missing next year when half of the band isn’t there, but then we get to create more experiences with others as well.” Sophomore Eli Smith said, “Jazz One next year will be much different, with nearly half the band being replaced, but it is definitely not a negative thing. Although the band will be younger and maybe less experienced, a young band presents the opportunity to grow together. It additionally challenges the less experienced players with harder music and higher expectations, which is a great learning opportunity.” This same sentiment is shared with Jazz One director Kyle Engelhardt. He said, “We have a lot of depth and talent in the jazz program at Cedar Falls, thanks to our outstanding jazz teachers in the junior high and high school. Every year is different— we usually graduate 30-50 percent of Jazz One, and everything ends up working out just fine.” If someone wishes to join Jazz One next year, the best advice anyone could give is to practice and put effort into what is being played. Jazz isn’t only a show of talent, but also of character. “The audition is important, but don’t stress it. The band directors know you as a player, and it is not solely the audition that is going to determine who’s in and who’s out,” Muñoz said.
of my favorite parts of the spring semester. All of the preparation everyone in Spectrum Project puts in over the semester finally gets showcases to the community. Despite all of their challenges, these performers are such champions and really make the most out of life. Being part of the Spectrum Project has taught me to appreciate every good thing in my life, no matter how small.” Whether or not someone is a part of the show or merely in the audience, Claire stresses the importance and impact it can have. There are many ways to get involved, one of which is through UNI and the many majors it offers. “As an audience member of the Spectrum Project for the past three years, I think each audience member takes away a feeling of hope and happiness because that is what the show continually shows through its skits, dances and songs. I think the most enjoyable part for me was looking at parents’ faces while they’re seeing their child performing onstage. Their eyes are fixated on their child, and they just look so proud. This show is usually very emotional for parents because this show is one of the only times a year they get to see they’re child in an activity.” By Staff Writer Grace
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Jazz One brings lessons home from State This jazz season, although hard at times, has been a very successful one. Jazz One finished out the year in eighth place of the 4A schools at the Iowa Jazz Championships on April 2 in Ames. This was a slight disappointment to some, after coming in seventh place the previous year. Senior Chase Kline said, “I think the reason that we didn’t place the way that we wanted to is because of the way that we run our jazz program. We switch out and change up our set multiple times throughout the year, so we don’t have the same time other schools do to polish and perfect all of our songs.” But junior Sofia Muñoz said the trade off is worth it. “We came away from the experience having a more valuable time. We went through our season playing more songs and building our repertoire as opposed to just perfecting certain pieces, so our experience of jazz overall is more impactful than what I would perceive as other schools.” For Jazz One, winning isn’t everything. What matters most to them is the sense of family and the interesting musical literature that they got to play throughout the year. Senior William Simms said that the best part about this jazz season was “getting to learn and grow more as musicians
Smith had a similar tip. “Anyone who wants to make Jazz One simply needs to practice and listen as much as they can. There’s really no shortcuts.” Junior Shelby Conditt said the most important thing to work on is soloing. She said, “Focus on soloing. A lot of people in Jazz One are at the same technical difficulty level, but if you work on your phrasing, it will set you apart. It’s sort of like creating your own story.” Engelhardt said, “Be the best at your instrument—playing jazz is like studying a language, and you need a good vocabulary and solid skills to succeed at playing jazz well. Amass a variety of experiences— audition for all-state, audition for honor bands, take private lessons, attend jazz camps and work to better yourself every day. When you’re not practicing, listen to the music and embrace the art form.” According to Simms, the continued effort and hard work put into creating a top jazz band does not need to end when the season ends. “I think it gets forgotten that music doesn’t end with the end of the school year or the end of 12th grade. For those who are passionate about it, it goes on forever.” By Staff Writer Clare
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Friday, April 12, 2019
Holmes, Peet place in state math contest The Holmes MathCounts team (Akshat Mehta, Anurag Anugu, Pranav Kota, and Jack Beecher) and the Peet MathCounts team (Elliot Purdum, Ed Lin, Sean Radke, and Eric Lucas) recently competed at a competition on Friday, April 5. An adviser of the Holmes MathCounts team Karen Newcomb said, “We had a fantastic day on Friday at State. Our school team earned second place out of 23 teams participating, and all five of our state qualifiers placed in the top 25 percent of individuals; there were approximately 150 students who competed at State.” An advisor of the Peet MathCounts team Sarah Cooper said, “Ed Lin, a seventh grader, placed second at Regionals in February and eighth at State.” MathCounts is a nationwide competition that involves math problem solving. Typically the problems require students to apply what they’ve learned in their math classes or MathCounts practices in new ways. Karen Newcomb, a previous math teacher at Holmes Junior High, and Blair Hudson, a former math teacher at Holmes, operate Holmes’ MathCounts team together with the help of Joe Newcomb. As for Peet, teachers Sarah Cooper and Mary Watson operate Peet’s MathCounts team together. Newcomb said, “MathCounts
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MathCounts program provided an outlet for creative math students on Friday, April 11. is much more interesting than solving the same type of algebra equation over and over again.” Akshat Mehta earned sixth place at the competition, with a score of 33 points. Akshat competed in the Countdown Round and beat two competitors in the Countdown Round to first defend his original seventh place finish and then rise to sixth place. Anurag Anugu earned 14th place with 29 points, Pranav Kota earned 24h place with 25 points, Jack Beecher earned 29h place with 23 points, and Grant Redfern earned 33rd place with 22 points. “Essentially, this means that
our five qualifiers are among the 25 best middle-school-aged math students in the entire state. That is pretty awesome. The Countdown Round is a verbal head-to-head competition featuring the top 10 scorers from the pencil-and-paper competition. Tenth place competes against ninth place, and the person who correctly answers the most out of three questions advances and competes against 8th place, and so on. It’s intense,” Newcomb said. Holmes had a total of five students that qualified for State. These students had placed first (Akshat), third (Anurag), fourth (Grant) and
sixth (Jack) at the chapter competition in February, and the team with Akshat, Anurag, Jack and Pranav placed first there. They also took a sixth student, Abby Sliwinski, to State as an alternate. The advisers are passionate about their teams and encourage others to join them in their success. “I think anyone can benefit from learning problem solving strategies to answer interesting math-related questions. It’s fun to think creatively about new problems and to challenge our brains,” Newcomb said. “The kids would probably say that the best part of being in MathCounts is the food at our math club meetings, but I think the best part is seeing how far the students come from the beginning of the year to the end, as they learn new strategies and tricks in order to become stronger and faster problem solvers.” Hudson shares similar favorites from this year, “The best part of Friday’s competition was to see our students recognized for their hard work in the team competition and how excited they were.” “The best part was seeing the students work together to solve problems. They do a great job of problem solving and working together,” Cooper said while sharing her favorite part of the MathCounts season. Along with the hard work
and dedication that was proven through practices come countless moments to celebrate and be proud of the ones who made it happen. “Our students met after school every Tuesday from September onward, with extra practices in February and March. They were a very committed bunch. I’m really proud of all the work that all the students put in and that we got to see it pay off for them. It’s hard to pick a favorite moment, but it was definitely fun to see our students do so well both individually and as a team,” Newcomb said. Hudson, in agreement with Newcomb, said, “My favorite part of Math Club is how much fun everyone has just doing math together. I learn something new from the students each week as they often find quicker and more creative ways to solve problems.” MathCounts has a chapter competition in February and a state competition in March. There is also a national competition in May, but only the top four individuals at State qualify for that. There was also a school competition held in January to help determine which students would be on both the Holmes and Peet teams and compete as individuals for the school. By Staff Writer Alex
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Freshmen prepare for end of year formal dance The freshman formal at Peet Junior High will take place on May 4 and this year, and the theme is Old Hollywood Glamor. The students and teachers have been coming together to start planning for the event including the recent Ninth Grade Dance Decor enrichment that meets together on Wednesdays. This enrichment helps plan and create the decor from finding a classic red carpet to making posters and banners. Laura Miller, the teacher that watches over this enrichment, said, ”We have tried to be respectful of everyone's ideas for the perfect ninth grade dance. Everyone has worked really hard to make it a fun, memorable evening for all the ninth graders. You have to use your imagination, but think about what it would be like to walk into a Hollywood awards night in the 1940s.” The students have been making leaps and bounds with time and technology on their
Jamie McDowell Photos
side. “We have used technology to find all of our design ideas, and then we have hand drawn everything to work on our designs,” Miller said. The enrichment still does things by hand, but they have used programs like Canva to create their designs. They also have to enlarge some images, which most of the time has to be done by hand.
While the budget is small, the committee has been reused past decorations and other things to create a memorable night. The limited time really is another hurdle that the decorations committee has to overcome. With the dance about a month away, there are still things that must be done. “Some students have come in
Students prepare for the formal dance at Peet Junior High andcut out stars on April 10.
during their study halls to work on and finish projects.” Miller said. They estimated from having Tiger TIme and some study halls to work on the project that they will have put in about 20 to 25 hours of work. Now the decorations must look amazing, but they must be easy to put up and easy to take down for easy clean up
and set up before and after the dance. They also must not be dangerous and must be school appropriate. This year's freshman formal has a lot of things planned, and the decoration is promised to be beautiful and really throw freshmen back into the 1940s. By Staff Writer Jamie
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Autism Awareness month shines light on inclusivity With autism awareness month starting up on April 2, organizations such as The Autism Society of America are using the time to involve a variety of people in the conversation about those affected by autism. “The original purpose [of autism awareness month] was to increase awareness about autism. Today, we spend more time talking about acceptance and inclusion of people with autism in all aspects of life,” Scott Badesch, the president/CEO of The Autism Society of America since 2010 and father of a 32-year-old autistic son, said. “I have a son with autism, and I saw the lack of support and help provided to him and so many. I also know that far too often autism, like so much, is a have and have not issue. Those with access to power and money are able to get needed services, and those without aren’t. I wanted to be able to help those who can’t.” The Autism Society of America works to provide advocacy, education, information, support and a community for people nationwide. Along with helping those who are directly affected by autism, the group works to include those who are not in the conversation.
Taylor Hunt Photo
The Autism Awareness ribbon is made up of multi colors and is intended to represent diversity and with the puzzle pieces. “Hopefully [this month] means that [people who are not directly affected] can hear about the need to be inclusive of people with autism in all walks of life, hire people with autism and provide full opportunity for people with autism,” Badesch said. According to Badesch, people can help support this cause by understand-
ing that a person with autism should be respected and provided opportunity to achieving the person’s highest quality of life. This can include making friends with someone in your life with autism. “Just be open to people being different. Not everyone has to be the same; otherwise, the world would be really boring. People can be who they
are, and we don’t have to ‘fix’ or change them,” Caroline Elser, mother of Joseph (Joey) Elser, an autistic student at Peet Junior High, said. “[Joey’s day is] probably very similar to other ninth graders. Joey gets up really early for school. He likes to have the same thing for breakfast, then goes to class with his paraeducator. After school he comes home on the bus, and two days a week he goes to speech therapy. He likes to play on his iPad as much as he is allowed, then has dinner, and then it’s usually a shower and off to bed.” As parents who are both affected by having children with autism, both of their messages were that people with autism deserve the same amount of respect that someone who doesn’t have it would get. “[The most important thing for people to know is] a person with autism has an inner and outer beauty and should never be stereotyped as being one way or the other. Just because you are diagnosed with autism doesn’t mean that you aren’t able to achieve success and a quality of life you desire,” Badesch said. By Staff Writer Taylor
Artist finds inspiration from social media Dylan Beecher began drawing in elementary before she recieved persuasion of art teachers to explore one’s creativity. Beecher finds her passion in painting portraits and people. Although Beecher doesn’t want to pursue art as a career, it will always be a hobby of hers. 1. When did you start doing art? “Probably around really early elementary.” 2. Did you start with school? “I just always liked to draw.” 3. What’s your favorite type of art? “I kind of like to paint anything. I try to do realism, but I like painting abstract too. 4. Is painting your favorite medium? “Yeah. I’m not as good drawing as I am painting.” 5. Do you see any future with art? “Probably not, I probably will just do it as a hobby. But I don’t know, you can’t predict the future.” 6. What’s your inspiration? “Whenever I draw I just finds something online that looks cool and that inspires me to start painting again. Or it’s just anything I see.”
Sophia Schillinger Photo Beecher’s painting above is inspired from a picture off of an Instagram. Beecher said she gets her inspiration from social media. The piece is posted in the high school near the nurses office. 7. What art classes have the painting above? “That was you taken at the high school? a picture I found on someone’s “Painting l. First and last, sadly. “ Instagram story, so I just paint8. Can you tell me about ed it. I was like ‘I think that’s
cool I am going to paint it.’” I kind of tweaked it a little bit for the project requirements. 9. Who has been your artist role model? “Honestly any artist I see on any type of social media that just posts consistently, that just have a direct or certain style they always follow. I just think it’s really cool to see their art.” 10. Do you enjoy more structure based art or drawing and doodling? “Honestly, either. It depends on the situation. If it is a project, I will probably sketch it out and have a pretty good base. If I am just doodling, I just go for it, and it takes me somewhere. 11. If someone asks you to draw their face, could you do that? “Well, I could probably draw someone’s face. but not as well as if I sat down and took my time with a photo. 12. What’s your favorite thing to draw? “I like drawing portraits and people, just because that’s what I see most fof the time, so I find it interesting.
By Co-Editor-In-Chief Sophia
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DYLAN BEECHER Illustrator
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Hearst Center hosts CF talent Friday April 12, 2019
From top left, Ella Kemp, Ethan Hansen, and Meghan Chagdes acrylic paintings are shown. Below, Amelia “Bugsy” Davis and Vedanti Sankpal and Sofia Munoz and Dylan Beecher’s watercolors are displayed.
Below, photographs from Rebekah Chagdes, Josee Simonson, Justin Green, Kristian Galloway, Jullian Kroeger, and Kya Bradfield are shown. Sabine Martin Photos
Erik Walther sculpture
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School starts mental health conversation Friday April 12, 2019
Early Monday morning, before the first bell rings, junior Sofia Munoz and the rest of the Active Minds group sits in room 162 brainstorming ideas to help spread mental health awareness throughout the high school. Munoz, started the new group when she noticed the school didn’t have any clubs dedicated toward mental health. Munoz knew she needed to change this because “Mental health affects everybody. Everybody has a mental health, just not everybody has a mental illness. Often people think they’re alone. It’s important to show them they’re not alone,” Munoz said. “Starting a productive conversation about mental illness here at the community we have at the high school is really important to break stigma,” Munoz said. Munoz is not the only one in the district starting the conversation about mental health. Last Monday, April 1, the district hosted a mental health conversation called “Let’s Talk Mental Health: A Community Conversation.” The goal of the evening was to address and educate the “Knowledge is power,” Peet counselor Rebecca Lins said. “Bringing more awareness to our district and community at large is beneficial to support one another and our young people. We have people who have suffered from mental illness in silence. We are working to reduce stigma and provide resources
to help those who struggle or know someone who is.” Lins said she and other counselors have seen a growing epidemic of students struggling with mental health issues and felt it was time to act. “We saw other districts organizing events like these to inform their community, and we felt that we were in a season where this was critical to our community's awareness,” she said. Not only did the district want to get students involved, but also the community. “Our goal was to reduce the stigma of mental health and inform our community of what we are seeing in our young people,” Lins said. Munoz also sees the importance of involving the community. “It can be really hard for a child to come up to their parent and say, ‘Hey, Mom or Dad. I am dealing with something right now.’ So, having an opening and accepting can play a big part on how someone deals with that internally and what kind of help they are able to get,” she said. One counselor from Peet, Holmes and the high school started meeting last fall to start planning the conversation. “We focused on vendors, session topics and presenters and donated items for light refreshments,” Lins said. Once the Active Minds group heard about the idea to represent themselves at the event, they started brainstorm-
ing on how they can get involved. The group set up a station and created clever ways to make mental health more approachable. “We handed out little pamphlets that have the acronym ‘Make PB&J:’ Make People Better and Join Active Minds. We used that to make the topic of mental health seem a little bit less scary and to make Active Minds a bit more memorable,” Munoz said. Through breakout sessions and different vendors, the event touched on a variety of topics. “We addressed what we felt like our top needs were that we are seeing most with our young people: substance abuse, anxiety, stress, resiliency in failing, physical wellness and supports with our LGBTQ community,” Lins said. Many vendors—like Pathways, Unitypoint, CFHS’ own club SAGA along with other supporters—were present at the event to support and inform the community about mental well being. For this event, the counselors reached out to Lyndsey Fennelly. Lyndsey was a four-year starter and AllAmerican at Iowa State University, who was drafted into the WNBA in 2007. After she graduated, she began training athletes to be in the best shape mentally and physically, as well as offering motivational speaking. At the event Fennelly opened
up about a side of her that most of the public is not aware of. Fennelly has bipolar disorder. Through recent struggles Fennelly realized she cannot outsmart her mental illness with only a positive mindset and has sought help as well as acknowledging that it is “OK to not be OK.” She now speaks at different schools monthly about mental health topics. Lisa Brooks, a mother of students in the Cedar Fall School District, attended the event. Brooks was knowledgeable about mental health before the event, but said she learned more about the reality of many students dealing with mental illness. “I learned some additional information regarding building and strengthening resilience as it applies to students and their perception of reality. A student’s perception is often their reality, and as parents, caregivers, teachers, etc., we can help them see a different perspective and show them they have the control to create more balance in their lives,” Brooks said. The conversations isn’t stopping here. As many students, community members, parents and children showed up to the event, the district wants to keep the conversation rolling. Lins said the district hopes to hold another conversation in the fall. By Co-Editor-In-Chief Sophia
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Student takes up online school to pursue skating endeavors In order to pursue her passion of ice skating, sophomore Grace Boezinger is joining a growing number of students who are trading traditional education for the flexibility of an online school. “The online program that I'm going to use is Connections Academy, which is a nationwide online school program. It's recommended by the state, so we [my family and I] just decided that it would be the easiest action considering it has the most courses and flexibility,” Boezinger said. Flexibility is a huge component to many students in high school who are trying to do well in school, work jobs and play sports all at the same time. Boezinger said, “High school just isn't very flexible with hours expectedly because it has a set time frame for all. I'm going to have to be up in Minnesota half the week from Thursday through Sunday, so it'd be
to practice with them, for example, on a Thursday because I can't just drive up to Minnesota after school and then drive back,” Boezinger said. “The online school program works really well with my time because I can do it anytime I want to. They also provide you with all the materials you would need, and it’s super nice because I can go to school on the go and not have to actually go to a certain building.” Boezinger started skating at a very young age and has been drawn to it ever since and continues to stay dedicated. “I've been skatSubmitted photo ing for around 11 years or Sophomore Grace Boezinger laces her skates so, since I was around four. at Young Arena in Waterloo for a competition. I'm pretty committed at this point. It's what I've done kinda hard to do traditional to be available during the my whole life. My goal has high school while traveling day as well as after school always been like my little constantly.” to be with my synchrodream; when I started as a She’s highly committed nized skating team. What four-year-old, I wanted to to skating and has ideas of I'm currently doing now is go to the Olympics somewhat her future entails in re- practices a few times durday, and obviously that gards to it. ing the week and on the would be amazing, but “For my practices I have weekends. It would be hard
I'm a little bit more realistic now. I understand that there's a good chance that it won't happen, but I would like to make it,” she said. Local issues hamper her from putting in the amount of dedication that she would like to as well. Boezinger said, “I really want to get somewhere with skating, so I skate five days a week. I wish I could skate every single day, but some days there isn't ice available in Waterloo or Cedar Rapids, so I can't, which makes it hard, but I could skate every day if I went to Minnesota.” Even after all her years in the sport, she is still making adjustments to her routines and skills. “I'm currently doing solo ice dance because I can't find a partner to skate with, so I'm hoping to make it to Nationals this year. This year is my first year doing solo dance, so I'm not super
hopeful, but I’m going to work my hardest. This year the team is pretty good and has a really good coach as well, so I'm really hoping that we make it through this year. I believe we really could have a chance at Nationals,” Boezinger said. Not being able to have a coach in close proximity is also a struggle that online school would solve for Boezinger. “I really just wanted to have the flexibility to have every day up in Minnesota with my coach in Minneapolis. It's hard right now. I do Skype lessons with my coach, but it it's not as good as having him in person, so that was a main reason as well. I won't be able to go to prom, football games or see my friends every day— any of that stuff, but I love skating so much that I'd do anything for it.” By Staff Writer Alex
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Our View Though new, ISASP perpetuates miopic picture of student learning Last week, Cedar Falls students joined the many young Iowans in taking the annual state standardized testing. While it used to be called Iowa Assessments, this year the name changed to ISASP— Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress. The name wasn’t the only thing changing about the annual test, as this year students took the test on Chromebooks, wiping out the usual method of the paper test. The home website for The Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress claims that the tests are “developed for the state of Iowa and align with the grade specific Iowa Core standards.” They also state that “the new English, math and science tests will evaluate students’ skills using a mix of item types including technology-enhanced questions as well as open-ended essay questions.” But the fact is that standardized testing is simply not a good measure of anyone’s intelligence. The test offers no feedback to the students who may need improvement within specific subjects. If students can’t learn from the tests that they are taking, what is the point in wasting valuable school time in taking them? Schools are, after all, supposed to be a learning-based environment. Instead of high schoolers comparing their individual results against previous years, the district takes this information to evaluate its progress. Superintendents and school officials compare the scores from year to year to see what students can do. These test scores should not be the basis of what a school’s curriculum is based around. Administrators should spend more time valuing the opinions and needs of individual students rather than focusing on the results of a one time test. Standardized tests like ISASP also fail to take into account the creative portion of a student’s mind. Some of the most in-demand jobs that employers are in desperate need of are positions like hospital managers, nurses and software engineers. All of these jobs require some form of creative thinking and problem solving, qualities that are nearly never tested on state exams. Schools need to take steps to make hallways an inclusive place with encouragement toward free thinking and individuality instead of making students conform to an age-old standard that has been proven to be ineffective time and time again. The importance of standardized testing is long gone, and there are more effective ways for schools to get a read on their progress without demeaning students into taking a test that fails to recognize what makes them individual.
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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. Editors-in-Chief: Sabine Martin, Sophia Schillinger Opinion Editor: Saba Aydiner Online Editor: Skylar Promer Staff: Grace Boezinger, Jackson Gutknecht, Taylor Hunt, Kendall Maslak, Jamie McDowell, Erin McRae, Sierra Miller, Grace Waseskuk, Alex Williams, Clare Williams Hi-Line Online Editor-in-Chief: Jackson Kliewer Staff: Paul Adom-Boateng, Colby Coonradt, Jack Jorgensen, Daniel Mitchell, Catalin Vilae
Tiger
HI-LINE Brunei should pay for intolerance Friday, April 12, 2019
One thing that the Trump era has made abundantly clear is that, as long as it brings in money, human rights atrocities don’t matter. For example, Saudi Arabia imprisons political activists and people fighting against their women’s’ rights abuses, but they have oil, so our government sweeps it under the rug and continues to fund them. Foreign policy like this emphasises the uncomfortable truth that the United States does not champion human rights all over the world, especially if it means missing out on millions in oil. Brunei is a small Southeast Asian country near Indonesia. It has a population of fewer than 500,000 people and a GDP of just $36 billion. Brunei is an absolute monarchy governed by Prime Minister and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. In early April, Brunei made gay sex, rape and adultery punishable by stoning to death. The outrage was immediate. Mark Field, minister of state for Asia in the UK, stated, “The UK strongly opposes capital and corporal punishment, whatever the crime. We strongly support LGBT rights.” Robert Palladino, U.S. State Department spokesperson, said, “We continue to encourage Brunei to ratify and implement the United Nations Convention Against Torture.” Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei researcher at Amnesty International, condemned this policy a bit more heavily, saying, “Brunei must immediately halt
its plans to implement these vicious punishments, and revise its Penal Code in compliance with its human rights obligations. The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice. “To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential ‘offences’ should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender… Brunei’s Penal Code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights.” A boycott of nine hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei began with an opinion piece written by actor George Clooney and published in Deadline, in which Clooney states, “They’re nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties. But let’s be clear, every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.” On April 2, Ellen DeGeneres voiced support of the boycott on social media, tweeting, “Tomorrow, the country of #Brunei will start stoning gay people to death. We need to do something now. Please boycott these hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei.” The hotels men-
tioned are The Dorchester, London; 45 Park Lane, London; Coworth Park, UK; The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills; Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles; Le Meurice, Paris; Hotel Plaza Athenee, Paris; Hotel Eden, Rome; and Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan. All are owned by the Sultan. However, if you don’t regularly spend your nights at five star hotels, there are other things to boycott, namely Shell. The nearest Shell location is in Waterloo, at 230 E Ridgeway Ave. There’s another in Shell Rock. Shell Oil Company is owned by Royal Dutch Shell, which is not just one of the largest oil companies in the world, but one of the largest companies in the world, period. Royal Dutch Shell has been using Bruneian oil since 1913; due to Brunei’s reliance on Brunei Shell Petroleum, it’s been nicknamed the “Shellfare State.” Around the world, more than 20 million people stop by Shell locations every day. In the US alone, there are thousands of Shell locations. Choosing not to spend money there is an excellent way to remind both our government and that of Brunei that people are aware of this policy, and that they do not approve. If the U.S. government won’t take action against this cruel and inhumane policy, maybe its people will.
“A person convicted of any infamous crime shall not be entitled to the privilege of an elector” (Iowa Const. Art. 2 § 5). Iowa remains one of the two states, alongside Kentucky, to impose permanent disenfranchisement for all people with felony convictions, unless the government approves individual rights restoration. On June 30, 2016, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the state’s disenfranchisement law with a 4-3 split decision in the case Griffin v. Pate. Currently, the only way for an exfelon to regain the right to vote, even after completing a full sentence, goes through the process of applying to the Office of the Governor. According to the constitution of Iowa, the governor has the discretion to restore voting rights or not. Fortunately for the ex-felons of today, the current Governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, is fighting for their right for a second chance. Reynolds is a recipient of second chances herself, regarding her past addiction with alcohol and drunken driving arrests. In an interview she gave to the Des Moines Register, she
stated her past struggles and stressed the importance of granting people an opportunity to change. “I believe that people make mistakes and there’s opportunities to change, and that needs to be recognized, so it’s something that I’m passionate about.” Her passion for the voting rights of felons drove her to put this bipartisan issue on the table multiple times since she has been in the office. Reynolds attempted to make the process of applications to gain back the right to vote for felons easier by sending them application papers at the end of their sentences; she has restored the voting rights of 88 Iowa felons since the beginning of her service as a governor. Recently, she proposed a constitutional amendment addressing felons’ rights; however, the process of approval of this proposal by the lawmakers is a yearslong process. Therefore, advocates for criminal justice ask the governor to take an immediate action through an executive order. Reynolds’ response to the demand was descriptive of her desire to make things permanent, a change that wouldn’t be affected by the differing
decisions of every single governor that takes her place in the future. Unfortunately, her proposal lasted until Sen. Brad Zaun took the measure off the committee’s calendar, denying it a vote, thus killing its chances of advancing this year. Reynolds’ office released a statement right after, stating her disappointment but hope of a vision and mission to continue the fight for Iowans who deserve a second chance. Each state has its own laws regarding disenfranchisement, and Iowa is known to have one of the most strict laws when it comes to the voting rights of felons. As of today, an estimated number of 6.1 million Americans with a felony conviction are barred from voting in elections. Vermont and Maine are the only two states where felons are allowed to vote while in prison. Felons who have paid their debt to society by completing their sentences should be able to have their rights, specifically rights to have a say in the governing of the country they live in.
By Staff Writer Sierra
MILLER
Iowa should restore felon’s voting rights
By Opinion Editor Saba
AYDINER
How has your life been touched by anyone with a mental illness? “My life has been completely changed by people with mental illness. Being close to people struggling with mental illness has taught me how to be more empathetic, caring and aware of how my actions affect others.”
—Alexandra Somodi
“It has given me more personal insight on how it affect a person as well as allowing me to see how even the same mental illness can affect people in different way.”
—Aimee Robisky
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Friday, April 12, 2019
ENTERTAINMENT
New novel reveals stories about avengence on sexual abuse “The Black Coats” is a novel written by Colleen Oakes, published earlier in February of this year, listed in the young adult fiction category. Before reading it is important to know, though no real descriptions are given of the acts, there is mention of sexual abuse in this story and caution is given to those who would be uncomfortable with such subjects. The story begins with a rather grim turn of events that will send the reader through a whirlwind of questions, meeting a room of empty answers. It is then up to the reader, as well as the main character, Thea Soloman, to fill in the blanks. After the murder of her cousin, Natalie, Thea has been facing nothing but grief, counselors and the never-ending strike of fear that goes through her every time she sees a white pickup truck. This all changes the day she is greeted with a black envelope holding instructions that change her life forever. After facing a test, she is in-
Novel by Colleen Oakes reveals group that takes revenge. vited to join a group of strong women with justice to administer across their state in Texas, the Black Coats. Thea is thrown into a new world of powerful women teaching others to become powerful themselves. Along the way she meets other young ladies in need of help and a way to seek out their justice. They must realize that only working together can they set things right between them-
Skylar Promer Photo
stories of sexual abuse and a
selves and others abusers. “It’s a shame, she thought as she made her way through the turnstiles and into the packed bleachers, that sometimes even the strongest women are not strong enough to endure the wickedness of the average men.” Thea and her team of empowered young ladies are filled with accomplishment every time they finish bringing
the assigned men to justice in one way or another. As they grow stronger as a group there seems to be nothing standing in their way, the thrill of justice being served to the guilty parties, leaving no stone unturned until they meet their fate foreseen by the older, more experienced leaders of the Black Coats. But what will happen when Thea realizes that administering “justice,” even if the perpetrators prove to be guilty, on their own accords could be doing more harm than good? “The Black Coats,” with 376 pages, is a powerful piece of writing that brings attention to the importance of feminists as well as women’s rights and other subjects pertaining to the struggles, fears and consequences of being a woman in this world where others are taught, both intentionally and not, to tear them down. guage film. By Staff Writer Skylar
PROMER
17-year-old music prodigy releases new album Billie Eilish is a 17-year-old homeschooled choir singer turned pop music prodigy, and she’s known to be the demon spawn of Lana Del Rey’s California dreams, who first compared a sweetheart’s gaze to napalm skies on her arresting 2016 single gone viral, “Ocean Eyes.” She later entertained fantasies of killing her friends on the song “Bellyache,” and warded off new ones throughout the rest of her 2017 EP, “Don’t Smile at Me.” Yet, the smirking candor of her music sucks you in anyway: at the onset of her noirish major label debut, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” she offers a generous, audible slurp; “I’ve taken out my Invisalign,” she says. “And this is the album!” Retainer: off. Fangs: out. Recorded with the help of her older brother Finneas in their family home in Los Angeles, it’s an album full of dressed-down avant-pop with D.I.Y. immediacy and intimacy that can still hold its own amid Top 40 maximalists like Ariana Grande and Halsey. Eilish’s sound is hyper-modern, but still feels classic; evoking another Billie in history, she sets the jazz-aware swing in her vocals over skittering trap beats and doo-wop piano asides. After her adorkabley cute first
Submitted Photo Billie Eilish’s new album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” was released on March 29 of this year. track, Eilish transitions into, per- Do We Go?,” it’s a personal one: sonally my favorite, track on the to make peace with the twisted, album. “Bad Guy” is your first dystopian Gotham that’s become impression of Billie (if you haven’t her reality, where there is no Batlistened to her other song, which I man to save her, Eilish writes highly suggest you do), which is a herself into characters who toe deep track with a strong beat and the line between good-bad and raw lyrics. cartoonishly evil. She recalls DC Eilish claims she endured re- Comics Harley Quinn in the slinky curring night terrors while record- track “Bad Guy,” playing a comic ing the album—recalling visions, book villain in a voice that sugsome real and some imagined, gests Lorde’s rascal kid sister: “I’m of abductions, severed heads, a make-your-momma-sad type, school shootings and Los Angeles make-your-girlfriend-mad type, in flames. might-seduce-your-dad type,” she When she poses the question, boasts, and with a single, sardonic “When We All Fall Asleep, Where “Duh,” she just narrowly gets
away with it. Yet she turns that nightmarish girl monster against herself in “Bury A Friend,” adopting a skittish iambic pentameter as she repeats “I wanna end me” over a muted goth-R&B throb. In the 20 years since its inception, never has a teen pop star so gone dark— closely paralleling the anti-pop Boogeyman of Marilyn Manson’s “Antichrist Superstar.” In spite of her most dastardly intentions, Eilish can’t help but draw back the curtain at times and let you in. Take the glimmer of sincerity in the high-drama ballad “When the Party’s Over,” where she painstakingly wishes to be more than just herself. Yet for every time she lets her guard down, she bounds back coolly, with a strategically distancing, impish snark. In “Xanny,” she says a hard no to drugs, if only out of respect for friends she’s lost to them: “I can’t afford to love someone who isn’t dying by mistake/In Silverlake,” she sings with the kind of wry, eye-rolling detachment most strongly fermented in adolescence. It’s moments like these when Eilish isn’t at all someone you want to fear; she’s someone you want to root for. By Staff Writer Grace
BOEZINGER
8 Warriors state champions season ends at Nationals SPORTS
Sitting in the locker room at the Midwest High School Hockey League championship game, the Waterloo Warriors hockey team members were down a goal after the first period. “We all just sat there in silence and focused in on our main goal to go out there and win. We ended up scoring two goals in the second period,” third-year Waterloo Warrior hockey player Kole Latusick said. According to first-year player JT Metcalf, “The most pivotal moment in the game was when Ben Sinnott scored the winning goal in the second period and looking up at our parents and fans knowing that we have a very good chance of winning this game.” The Warriors were on a 19-game winning streak during the MHSHL championship final and dominated the regular season. When the timer buzzed, the Waterloo Warriors claimed the title of the 2019 Midwest High School Hockey League Champions after defeating Cedar Rapids 2-1. “We were the best team in the league, and when we won, it was such a blur. It all went super fast,” Waterloo Warrior’s player Cobie Morrissey said. Morrissey, Latusick and Metcalf are all students at Ce-
Friday April 12, 2019
Maddie Posekany Photo
The 19-streak hockey team, the Waterloo Warriors ended their regular season in the quarterfinals at Nationals. dar Falls High School and play on the Warriors with students from other high schools in the region. “I was on the ice when the timer expired. This being my second title won, you still get those butterflies of what you really just accomplished. Pure joy hits right away to see all the hard work and dedication everyone put in every day pay off,” Latusick said. Since the beginning of the season, Warriors head coach Brian Cook could predict how far they would get competitively in the championship games. “This group of players
works very hard on and off the ice to achieve their goals. They did have some very good talent, but without hard work, you can’t get very far. I knew we could have a pretty special season after seeing some of the other teams. I could see that we were going to be one of the top teams in the league and challenge the tournament title and go to Nationals,” Cook said. Going into the USA Hockey High School Championship tournament in Cleveland on March 28 through April 1, the Waterloo Warriors won all three preliminary games. The
team went on to the quarterfinals and faced the Boulder/ Monarch Coyotes from Colorado with a 3-2 loss. Waterloo Warriors head coach Brian Cook felt dissatisfied from the quarterfinal National Championship game because of the amount of penalties that led to the Boulder/ Monarch Coyotes’ win. “I am somewhat disappointed with the national championship because I feel that we are more skilled than the team we were up against. It was a privilege to go to Nationals, and you can’t win every game, so it is motivation for us to get there again next year,” Cook said. Even with the Warriors’ win in the MHSHL and the quarterfinal loss in Cleveland, the team has eyes set on the next season. “Our goal every year is to be able to compete for the state championship and have a chance to get to Nationals. Our team next year will be very talented, so I think we have a good shot at our goal. Our Cedar Falls players were great contributors to our success this year, and without them we would not have had the success that we had,” Cook said. By Co-Editor-in-Chief Sabine
MARTIN
Cedar Falls Rec Center makes positive impact in community Since the Cedar Falls Recreational Center’s opening in 1993, it has been a major contributor to way for people to come together to reach their goals. Many lives have been positively impacted through the recreation programs offered through the rec center. Bruce Verink, recreation and community programs manager has seen first hand the positive influence the rec center has had on the community of Cedar Falls. “The little kid who is busy watching the clouds in the sky in the outfield, we have to teach him what hand the glove goes on, and toward the end of the season the ball gets hit up in the air and you see the kid shield his eyes, turns away, puts his glove up, and somehow the ball goes into the glove, the smile on the kid’s face, the smile when they get their first hit, is something special. It tells us we are doing something right.” The rec center has many summer options for kids to get exercise ranging from baseball to swimming lessons, and in the winter the rec center hosts a “in-
door playground” for kids to get exercise and have fun while doing so. The rec center tries to appeal to all and make sure kids have a safe place where they can stay healthy. “Having a place for kids to keep off the street and out of trouble can cause the staff some trouble, but it is worth it to keep the kids safe,” Verink said. Verink has seen the indoor park become a great social event for children to make friends and let all their energy out in a controlled environment. “We had a kid after our indoor park, he went home and fell asleep face first in his SpaghettiOs, and that tells us that our program is doing something positive for those kids, but it’s not only the kids.” Verink has seen relationships build not just between kids, but between their parents as well. “The parents want us to keep offering it in May when it is warm enough to play outside, but the parents like it because bringing their kids here gives them a time to talk to other adults that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to talk
to,” Verink said. While the gym isn’t being used to give children some play time, the rec center runs fitness classes for adults. Vicky Hartmen is a teacher for one of those classes and loves seeing people get in the gym and achieve their goals. “It’s a really good place to get together with other people. I love helping people reach their fitness goals. I love doing the classes. I love working out with everybody and just being in a positive atmosphere with people of all ages and levels working together,” Hartmen said. Junior Kade Halupnick also uses the rec center to reach his fitness goals while making new friends. “Before I started going to the rec, I was lazy and always sitting on my couch playing video games. Then I got to the rec and started working out and got a passion for it and just kept going. I started to lose weight and got in shape. I went from over 200 pounds to where I am at now which is around 160, and I couldn’t have made that trans-
formation without the rec. The rec gave me an outlet to lose weight,” Halupnick said. “I’ve met a lot of new people through the rec that I wouldn’t know today, and I’ve also been able to get fit, and more importantly, stay fit.” With people of all ages coming to run around with their friends in the indoor park, do some hot yoga with their friends, ball up on the court or just hit the weights, the rec center has a big juggling act to make sure there is always something for everyone. “We try to offer something for everybody at every age for something everyone can afford. We are trying to make it as affordable as possible to stop in and use their leisure time for the health of it to try to be in better shape or even build a social life. Our classes are vital because they have a sort of peer pressure that keeps people coming back because they know the other people are counting on them to be there,” Verink said. By Staff Writer Jackson
GUTKNECHT
The
Tiger
HI-LINE Athlete of the
Week
KYLE TRUNNELL Men’s Track How long have you been doing running in track for? “Since seventh grade. I have always run t h e s h o r t h u rd l e r a c e s . I r u n s h u t t l e h u rd l e a n d o n e - t e n s . What has been your biggest accomplishment f ro m t h i s s e a s o n s o f a r ? “ I b ro k e t h e s c h o o l re c o rd i n t h e 6 0 m e t e r h u rd l e s a t t h e M V C m e e t . I w a s b re a k i n g a re c o rd f ro m 1 9 7 2 . ” W h a t a re y o u r p e r s o n a l goals? “I would like to win state this season. Last season I was fourth place.” W h a t a re s o m e s t r u g gles you have faced with i n t r a c k ? “ I h a v e n ’t h a d a n y i n j u r i e s y e t , b u t i t i s re a l l y h a rd t o p r a c t i c e h u rd l e s when the weather is bad.” F a v o r i t e m e m o r y f ro m t h i s o r p re v i o u s s e a s o n ? “I think that state finals last y e a r, w h e n I w a s p re d i c t e d to get eight, but I got fourth.” A re y o u p l a n n i n g o n participating in track after this year and in college? “I think so, I hope to keep running.”