April 28, 2009 hi line

Tig r HiLi e Hi-Line Survey: Gage Wente Staff Writer

Shawn Fanning, still a college student at the time, changed the music industry forever just under 10 years ago. He created the first peer-to-peer mp3 sharing website, Napster.

Although Napster’s time in the spotlight lasted only two short years, its ideas have left a mark on the Web and music industry.

Today, the availability of free mp3s might be the highest it has ever been. One can easily download a variety of programs such as LimeWire or FrostWire that will allow them access to a vast library of illegal mp3s.

While many people might think that the Recording Industry Association of America’s strict policies and a surge in recent action against illegal downloading has led to a decrease in overall music piracy, the opposite may be true.

In a survey of 10 percent of students conducted at Cedar Falls High School recently, 64 percent of sampled students admitted to downloading illegally, while only 36 percent obtained their music through legal methods. Many of the students

April 28, 2009

Volume 49 Issue 21

1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613

Majority of students favor illegal music downloading

that download their music illegally said that they rarely or never buy music and had no moral dilemma with doing so.

“I think it’s wrong, but it’s very easy to do. You just download LimeWire or something, and you can download all you want,” sophomore Claire Morris said.

“If we never pay for music, then artists won’t have the money to keep writing songs. Labels and record companies need money to sponsor artists on tours, and without CD sales that’s not going to happen.”

The survey shows that 65 percent of all illegal downloads are done through LimeWire and an additional 17 percent are done through FrostWire, which shares a network with LimeWire.

Many music enthusiasts consider Lime Wire to be the next Napster.

The RIAA has made moves against LimeWire by monitoring downloads through the system and then working with local Internet companies to either shut down the user’s Internet access or to sue the offender.

“I’ve heard of a few people that have had their Internet cut for downloading stuff,” junior Michael Droste said. “They did it a lot, though.”

Do you download music illegally?

If you download illegally, how are you doing it?

Hi-Line survey represents 10 percent of students surveyed by representative samples from genders and grades.

CF students match physics skills with tops in Iowa at state olympics Sara Strever News Editor

The Physics Olympics team placed 6th out of 21 teams from all across the state on Thursday, April 16.

“We didn’t do as well as we wanted to, but I think we still did an amazing job, overall. We all tried our hardest and had fun doing it. In the end, that’s what really matters,” Freudenberg said.

Nine students and adviser Kenton Swartley traveled to the Science Museum in Des Moines to participate in the annual state Physics Olympics.

"It was a fun experience to get to

go down to Des Moines for a day.

We saw a lot of different designs other students had come up with for their contraptions, and I learned a lot about how I could improve my own,” senior Arlene Freudenberg said.

Seniors Lee Przybylski and Jerry Stoss placed fourth in the self-propelled water heater.

Seniors Kyle Bernard and Collin Albrecht placed fourth in optical slalom.

Seniors Mark Lukasiewicz placed fourth in the mouse trap car. Senior Sarah Halloran didn’t attend the competition, but did help build the mouse trap car.

Arlene Freudenberg Photo

Seniors Lee Przybylski and Jerry Stoss peddle to fourth place in the self-propelled water heater contest at state Physics Olympics.

N eWs Bri efs Lauterbach Scholarship Deadline Extended The Lauterbach Scholarship for senior women deadline has been extended to Wednesday, April 29. Stop in the counseling office for an application.

Assembly Schedule The high school awards assembly is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 at 9 a.m. in the gym. Students will operate on a shortened schedule, with second period beginning at 8:35.

The entire morning schedule is as follows: 8:05-8:30 (25 minutes) 1st Hour 8:35-8:55 (20 minutes) 2nd Hour 9:00-10:10 Assembly. Students will sit with their 2nd hour classes.

10:15-10:39 (24 minutes) 3rd Hour Sign Up for Intramural Ultimate Frisbee Sign up deadline for intramural ultimate Frisbee has been extended to Wednesday, April 29. Registration forms are in the attendance office or may be downloaded off of the PE website.

Top Teens Honored The following CFHS students were honored last Thursday at the Mayor’s Top Teen Awards for their contributions to the community: Melanie Adrian, Mike Bangtson,Kyle Bernard, Wes Boyer, Allison Duchman (also awarded 2009 Mother Moon Scholarship), Ashlee Graham, Arlene Freudenberg, Emily Hester, Austin Javellana, Katy Kloos, Sarah Korte, Alice Miller, Rachel Patterson, Mackensie Smith and Kristen Van Veldhuizen.

Yearbook Orders Deadline All orders must be placed for the 2008-2009 yearbook by Friday, May 1. The cost is $45 with checks made payable to Cedar Falls High School. Turn in orders to the office or Mr. Winkel in room 208. No late orders will be accepted.

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Thank you to all involved in annual basketball game Hopefully, you attended the faculty vs. student basketball game that occurred on Sunday, as many of us did. In a previous Our View, we endorsed the faculty vs. student basketball game as an entertaining tradition that benefits others in the process.

This is most definitely true of the faculty vs. student basketball game. However, the main objective of this Our View is not to highlight its charitable aspects, however important they may be. Rather, it is to thank Senior Leadership, Students for Social Responsibility (SSR) and Student Senate, the groups primarily responsible for planning the faculty vs. student basketball game, as well as the administration for choosing to give part of the proceeds to us.

The financial difficulties we have experienced this year have been well known outside of the staff, both by the school and the community.

In spite of our best efforts, the attempt to pay for publishing costs through selling ads was not as successful as we would have liked. Because of this, we are evermore grateful for receiving part of the proceeds from the faculty vs. student basketball game.

To reiterate from the previous Our View, we would like to say that we are not only grateful for receiving part of the proceeds, but for having such a supportive school environment.

We are incredibly thankful for the amount of support we have received this year, which has not been solely demonstrated from the decision to give part of the proceeds from the faculty vs. student basketball game to us. It has made all of us truly happy to know that so many people in our school like and appreciate The Tiger Hi-line, and they are so willing to help and support us during this difficult time of financial need. We are so very fortunate to be the paper of Cedar Falls High School.

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. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Wednesdays to read in their DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) classes.

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 Wednesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.

Editorial Staff

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Editors-in-Chief: Honor Heindl, Kellie Petersen and Ellen Wrede Business Managers: Jill Dally and Alex Entz News Editors: Arlene Freudenberg and Sara Strever Opinion Editors: Maggie Devine and Vincent Stigliani Sports Editors: Jackie Jordan, Nick Penticoff and Paul Strike Feature Editor: Honor Heindl On-Line Editors: Torie Jochims and Ellen Wrede Entertainment Editors: Maggie Devine and Torie Jochims Photo Editor: Honor Heindl Cartoonist: Katie Dexter Graphic Artist: Tasha Woods

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April 28, 2009

Old News?

With changing media, print news on last leg

Right now, you are more than Cedar Falls Courier Editor Saul likely holding history. By that, I Shapiro said. don’t mean this article specifically; “We’re seeing news operations I am talking about the print newspaall over the country, print and broadper which you are holding. This is cast, cutting back on their operations because, if recent times are any indibecause of the economy and more cation of the future, print newspaper fully utilizing the Web,” Assistant will be a thing of the past.

Professor in Communication Arts at Almost every day there is a story Wartburg Cliff Brockman said. “As about a newspaper making massive a local example, the Courier recently budget and employee cuts. In recent eliminated its Saturday edition and months, it has not been has beefed up its Web uncommon to see a site. It now directs its news outlet completely readers to its Web site overhaul their print for the latest Friday newspaper, moving ennight sports scores and tirely to other forms of breaking news.” technology. The list of An analogous situsuch instances goes on, ation is what happened but two notable cases with Napster upon are The Capital Times its release. The free and The Christian Scicomputer program ence Monitor. essentially allowed The Capitol the free download Vincent Stigliani Times, a Madison, of all music. When Opnion Editor Wis., newspaper people became with a circulation aware of this proaround 20,000, announced last April gram, they stopped buying CD’s, for that it would cease to publish a daily they could get the same product for edition and move entirely Internetbased. free from Napster.

This was one of the first major The Internet makes every single newspapers of its stature to do so. news story covered in papers availThe renowned Christian Science able 10 times over, so readers have Monitor, which was a daily publicano incentive to buy a newspaper tion that has a circulation of around when they can get the same informa56,000, also announced last year that tion, if not better, for free. as of April of 2009, it would end its “It’s absolutely ludicrous for daily publication. The 100-yearnewspapers to continue to give away old international paper will print a their best content for free on the weekly edition, but its primary form Internet. Newspaper content on the will be online.

Internet should be basic community Undoubtedly, the Internet is the news — calendars, sports scores, main culprit in the downfall of print press releases, public documents, news. “Newspapers have devalued etc. — that isn’t value-added. Conthemselves by giving away their tent produced by reporters has value, basic commodity — information — and it should be used to generate for free online, so it’s hard to see revenues,” Shapiro said. how a paid print version can sustain The thought of an entirely onlineitself on a daily basis for the longbased news outlet scares many jourterm,” Director of Communication nalists. “Basically, the newspaper and Marketing and former Waterloo will continue to migrate online and

“If recent times are any indicator of the future, print newspapers will be a thing of the past.”

the conventions of the platform— revenue generation rather than social responsibility—will affect why we gather news. As such, the media will become less of a watchdog and accountability will suffer,” Director of Iowa State’s Greenlee School of Journalism Michael Bugeja said.

Although the future for newspapers appears rather grim, there are many proposed solutions to end this downward spin. One of these options is a fundamental shift in what newspapers cover. For many newspapers today, much of the news consists of national and world news. If the smaller, more local newspapers are to stay in business, they must increase the amount of local news.

“Those who emphasized local news are still largely in business,” Bugeja said. “People still need to know what is happening in their communities.” When smaller newspapers attempt to cover largerscale events, they are bound to lose readers.

With the Internet and large media outlets covering these same stories, readers are naturally inclined to go to these sources, where the information is free and oftentimes more in-depth.

On the other hand, if the smaller publications make more of a point to cover local news, readers are more likely to subscribe to and read the paper because it is providing news that is not provided by the larger outlets.

Many times, local news is much more meaningful and personal for the readers than national and international news is.

Another option for failing newspapers is changing how news is investigated and presented. One way for a paper to stand out from other publications is by providing unique, in-depth stories that are not being covered by every other paper.

A wonderful example of this strategy is the Des Moines Register’s feature on education systems around the world. In one edition, the Register sent reporters to Finland, where standardized test scores are notori-

See Future of Print News on page 5

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Sexting can result in legal troubles, future embarrassments for students

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could ultimately have to register as One in five teens admit they’ve sex offenders — next to those who sent a sext. A sext is a text message have raped and molested. that includes a nude or semi-nude Many students picture of themselves think they’re sendor someone else. ing a fun picture About a third to their boyfriend of young adults or girlfriend, when say they’ve sent or in reality it’s much posted a naked or more. What happens semi-naked photo or if you break up with video of themselves, them and they saved because they’re fun the picture? That and flirtatious. person could send Sexting is becomthe so called “fun” ing well known picture to everyone among teens and they know. Does it young adults. Mainly because of all the news Lauren Bonner still seem like fun?

Once a sext has that has been buzzing Staff Writer been sent, anyone around it. could view it. Many say they feel The news talks about what has sorry for those people. Some teens happened to those who have sexted. do it because they’re pressured.

For example, in Greensburg, Penn., Their significant other says, “If you three high school girls sent seminude photos to four male classmates, love me, you’ll send me a picture,” and thus the person does it, just to who are now facing child pornogramake their companion happy. phy charges.

When parents find out what their For those caught with sexts, not only could they be charged with pos- teen has been doing, they become furious. They think “What the heck sessing child pornography, but they

were they thinking. Anyone could see it.”

There are ways that parents can find/prevent sexting. New software allows parents to read their child’s text messages even if they’ve been deleted. Some programs can be programmed to let parents know when there teen is using words such as “hook up” or “meet up.”

If parents want to know if their child has been doing something inappropriate, there are other easy ways to find out. First, type the child’s first and last name in quotes in the search engine Google.

This will show any activity a child has had. Second, do the same thing but with their phone number.

Last, download Google Desktop.

Google Desktop searches a computer for pictures and videos.

If a parent would find something, they should talk to their child and tell them the consequences of their actions and the potential danger they could be in.

I personally feel that sexting is something that should be stopped.

The only way to stop it, is to inform

people.

I think that schools should also talk about the what could potentially

happen to those who’ve sexted.

Maybe once students were informed, sexting might stop.

Future of Print News continued from page 5

ing ‘objective’ because they wanted to build a wider audience and also, most importantly, keep from alienating advertisers by simply restating a political party perspective.”

There are strong reservations about this technique, however. “Journalists need to tell the community how certain decisions will affect it.

When you provide that type of immediacy, it’s compelling, but you also have to have the staff and the insights to pull it off,” Shapiro said.

“On the other hand, you have to be wary of letting partisan political perspectives color any analysis. You’re seeing that play out in the blogs. It’s also driving cable TV — Fox on the right, MSNBC on the left — and radio — NPR on the left, conservative talk shows on the right.”

Perhaps the most promising future for journalism involves mobile journalists— commonly referred to as Mojos.

Mojos are journalists who write

their stories directly from where they are happening with the aid of cameras, laptops and wireless Internet.

Because these journalists report onsite, they are able to constantly update their stories and provide the freshest, most accurate news.

However, some critics find office collaboration and discussion is very beneficial, and also this practice will cut out editorial oversight.

Although the future may seem grim, there are still young people interested and active in journalism, and journalistic skills are still very important. “Major media outlets have forgotten their reasons for being, catering more to Wall Street than to Main Street. What hasn’t changed is the zeal of students who want to do journalism for all the right reasons— transparency, disclosure and service to the community,” Bugeja said.

“Enrollment has remained steady or is rising in some areas. The reason is that journalism uses the same tech-

nology that students use as consumers across academic disciplines, so we have an obligation to teach nonmajors how to use these powerful gadgets with community, service and ethics utmost in mind.”

Regardless of what form it comes in, the importance of journalism will always remain.

“All I have is the belief that without responsible journalism, practiced in the public interest, democracy cannot survive,” Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor Joan Konner said. “There are and will be good independent journalists finding a way of getting important stories out—in books, in magazines, in newsletters, on the Web, if not in the business model of today’s daily newspapers.”

No matter what form journalism evolves into, one must hope that reliable, thoughtful, relevant news continues with it.

ously high. These reporters spent time in the schools, interviewed teachers and directors and talked to the students. They then wrote a comprehensive piece on the system, comparing it to America’s.

These stories were accompanied by graphs and statistics about test scores worldwide. This is an example of how a paper can separate itself from other papers and draw in readers.

One of the major British newspapers, The Inquirer, has defied the laws of journalism in how it covers its news. During the 2004 United States elections, when it simply reported the results, circulation fell.

This information could be found easily and much more timely online.

The next day, The Inquirer decided to change how it covered the elections, and this time it included

analyses and interpretations of the election and sales increased by 15 percent. When covering the resignation of a mayor, the paper focusing the implications for the community would be an example of this style of reporting.

This goes against the conventional practice of journalism because it would require the journalists to include their own thoughts and analyses rather than only presenting the data. This method could give newspapers originality when they all cover the same event.

This practice is not a new idea.

“Newspapers became a major part of our culture in the mid-19th century starting out as political party mouthpieces, although the founding fathers also had used newspapers to drive the dialogue (often nasty, even by today’s standards) to shape the foundation of this republic,” Shapiro said.

“It wasn’t until the 20th century that newspapers became interested in be-

Katie Dexter Cartoon

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Student Vs. Faculty

(Below) Lindsey Morris (’09) blocks Teresa Martin as she looks for an open teammate in the last two seconds of the game.

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Basketball Bash

April 28, 2009

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Senior Leadership raised $1,100 for Tiger Hi-Line & Relay for Life

Senior Haley Patterson blocks her mom, Brenda, from taking a shot in a friendly mother-daughter rivalry.

Honor Heindl & Kristen Aldrich Photos

Natalie Moya (’09) was on fire as she helped lead the students to yet another win in the annual student vs. faculty game.

Senior Kyle Bernard intercepts a pass between faculty players & dribbles down the court for a lay-up.

Michael Bangston (’09) fakes out his opponent Kenton Swartley with his cunning dribbling abilities.

(Right) Dirk Homewood shows off his mad jump shot skills, only to be denied by Darion Howard (’09).

Linden Terpstra (’10) guards Lynn Griffin as she makes her way down the court.

& the students triumph yet again...

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N eW Rel eases

Music:

•Bob Dylan Together Through Life •A Camp Colonia •Method Man & Redman Blackout 2 •Halestorm Halestorm •Melody Gardot My One and Only Thrill

Movies:

•Battle for Terra •Ghosts of Girlfriends Past •X-Men Origins: Wolverine

F eature Pod cast

This week’s feature podcast as well as eight others that are updated every other week can be found on The Tiger Hi-Line Online (http://www. cedar-falls.k12.ia.us/buildings/cfhs/ journalism/index.html) by following the podcast links. Internet Explorer does not work for viewing this site.

Use Safari, Firefox or Opera for best results. The website is also linked off the high school’s website.

Just Do It with host Jarek Bakken

This show finds students who won’t settle for watching life pass them by. They find another world of creativity after the three o’clock bell at the end of the school day.

April 23/ Episode 11 This week senior Honor Heindl drops in to share where her interests in photography and graphic design have taken her.

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April 28, 2009

Many pre-prom dinner options available Disney’s

Earth lives up to hype

Monica Reida Staff Writer

The topic of which restaurant prom attendees will be eating at tends to be a discussion more important than the color of a prom dress.

And while the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area is more on quick comfort food than upscale dining, the decision on what upscale restaurant one should attend can be difficult.

Perhaps these quick restaurant reviews can be of some aid to those still having a difficult time figuring out what restaurants to patronize.

Applebees I know, it’s a chain restaurant that you might think of as a place to hang out with the family, but every year I seem to find some couples that do attend Applebees for a pre-prom dinner.

Which seems to make sense to me. Presently the chain is running a two for $20 deal, where you can get an appetizer and two entrees for $20.

For those trying to be low budget, this seems ideal since you can spend $20 on one entrée at any of the previously mentioned restaurants.

And while Applebees is a chain restaurant with a kitsch decoration and a loud noise level, it’s inexpensive and has good food.

Although, since the buyout by IHOP Corp., the chain has undergone several changes such as the menu. For example, the exquisite Veggie Patch Pizza is no longer found there making the restaurant a potentially poor place for vegetarians. However, the Cedar Falls location has staff that will prepare the pizza if you order it and omit meat from pasta bowls if you request it.

As a drink, I recommend you try their flavored lemonades.

Service: 3 out of 4 stars Food: 3 1/2 out of 4 stars Atmosphere: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars Price: $7.49-$15.99 Overall: 3 out of 4 stars MyVerona The latest restaurant in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area attempts to be a new-age upscale restaurant that would fit in perfectly in Chicago or New York, yet when you order iced tea, they bring you a bottle of Lipton

Ben Olsen Staff Writer

Monica Reida photo

Cu restaurant is located in downtown Waterloo.

tea. The restaurant has black walls and dim lighting, with some stone facades on a few walls to maybe give the hit of an Italian restaurant.

But other than the stone walls and the fact that Verona is in its name, it fails to suggest that it would have Italian food.

Food here seems to be the most expensive out of any restaurant in the area, yet their beef risotto is far too bland to compensate for the large plate it’s served on. The linguini and clams has a creamy sauce and succulent clams. The rolls were rather difficult and required me to barbarically tear them apart.

As for the desert, they have “Espresso crème brulee” which can only make me raise my eyebrows.

They have, by far, the worst tiramisu I have ever had. So, skipping desert as a means for saving money would not be that bad of an idea.

The restaurant compensates with this by having a very friendly staff.

As my grandfather and I entered the restaurant, we were greeted by every waiter we walked past. As we left, everyone, including the kitchen staff, said good bye.

Service: 4 out of 4 stars Food: 2 out of 4 stars Atmosphere: 3 1/2 out of 4 stars Price: $11-$29 Overall: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars Cu Restaurant This restaurant in downtown Waterloo is quite possibly the jewel of up-scale dining in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area. The joy of Cu, which is the elemental symbol for copper,

is that their food is not confined to a specific region as are several of the other restaurants. This seems to allow their executive chef, Mark Windman, more room for his daily specials and what is on the menu.

While the restaurant possesses high ceilings giving it the feeling of a large space, all of the tables are very confined. The booths have high wooden dividers between each of them giving a nice feeling of seclusion while the tables with chairs have curtains that are a draw to separate guests.

While the food is a bit more of a weight on the budget, it is worth every penny. Those that have joined me for a meal there have never had a disappointing menu item and neither have I. The fish is savory and the Moroccan Lamb is succulent. With each dinner comes either a soup or salad and I highly recommend the Lobster and Shrimp Bisque, which is a little spicy, but enough that those averse to hot items can tolerate it.

As for the entreés, look at the menu closely to know what you’re ordering. If you need help, the courteous and friendly wait staff always seems to be very knowledgable with each menu item. The only thing I don’t recommend is the crème brulee as a desert as it always seems to be a bit runny when I order it and a crème brulee should be thick.

Service: 4 out of 4 stars Food: 4 out of 4 stars Atmosphere: 4 out of 4 stars Price: $10.99-$28.99 Overall: 4 out of 4 stars.

The new documentary turned feature Earth, the first film from Disneynature studios, may look familiar to those who have watched Discovery Channels 11-hour-long animal documentary series, Planet Earth.

However, this condensed hourand-a-half film doesn’t lack the amazing detail of the true circle of life happening on our planet and even adds in classic Disney family moments as three animal units are followed on journeys.

First, the Arctic Circle is profiled, along with a father polar bear searching for food as the mother and her two cubs emerge from a five-month hibernation. Global warming is never directly talked about by friendly narrator James Earl Jones, but it is evident as the father struggles to survive amidst melting ice.

Next, the film heads to an African desert where a herd of elephants and their young are making a tremendous journey to find a watering hole. Astounding aerial cameras attached to helicopters show how this herd fights constant tornado-like sandstorms.

Finally, the most astounding footage comes as the cameras follow a humpback whale and her calf as they make a journey of 4,000 miles from warm waters in the tropics to the seas of Antarctica.

Along the way, a gazelle being preyed upon by a cat is shown, and a tremendous great white shark is seen jumping out of the waves. The highspeed, high-resolution camera used by the filmmakers shows you every muscle twitch and head movement as the cat moves in on its prey and the true enormity of the splash as the shark dives back in the sea.

Overall, this film can put anyone back in touch with nature. The harsh realities of the food chain are tamely shown, but a greater sense of the majesty that our natural planet contains is provided and shown to a higher degree than ever before.

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Tiger trapshooting has high expectations Alex Entz Business Manager

The Cedar Falls trapshooting team is off to a strong start, though the season remains young. The team is built on youth, but hopes surrounding the team are understandably high.

Trapshooting coach David Grund summarized the season thus far.

“We have placed in almost every meet we have been in. We have won some squad trophies and some individual trophies also,” he said.

The team had a meet last Thursday against West. Cedar Falls won that meet, headlined by an individual

victory from junior shooter James Roberts.

“I think I’m finally starting to come around,” Roberts said. “I want to do the best I can and make a run at State.”

This year’s team is exceptionally young and talented, and the numbers have continued to swell from recent years. Both Grund and Roberts cited the team’s youth as a fountain of great potential for a run at State.

“We graduated a lot of shooters last year, so our team is pretty young this year with a lot of new shooters, but they have great potential as a group,” Grund said.

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“We have a lot of young people gaining experience. Personally, I’m not as nervous as I was last year, and I think that that’s really helping my performance,” Roberts said.

A big part in keeping the young shooters calm and under control has been Grund’s steady hand. Young teams often fall apart under pressure. “(I have been stressing) that they need to keep their shooting mechanics strong so they don’t regress into bad shooting habits, and (I want them) to keep a good mental focus,” Grund said.

The team practices once a week, every Thursday night at the Cedar

Falls Gun Club.

Roberts, who shoots a Beretta 12 gauge shotgun, went over an average trapshooting practice.

“I do one round from 16 yards, and a second from 19 yards. If I did well, then I’m done. If not, I’ll do one more,” Roberts said.

Asked to compare this year’s team to last years team, Roberts was frank.

“I did terrible, and the meets leading up to State were bad last year,” he said. “We’re a lot better this year.”

The team’s next meet is this coming Saturday, May 2, at the Cedar Falls Gun Club.

CF finds mixed bag of success at Drake Paul Strike & Jacqueline Jordan Sports Editors

The 100th running of the Drake Relays brought its usual dominating performances, heart-wrenching finishes and terrific professional shot put competition as it has every year.

On the high school level, the Cedar Falls Tigers exceeded expectations by taking home a championship in the men’s distance medley relay and placing 9th in the women’s 4x800 meter relay.

The CF men, after winning the 4x400 meter relay last year both at Drake and at State, got a surprising victory in the distance medley relay, thanks in large part to senior Jordan Velasquez’s incredible anchor leg.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy, which ran a 3:29.2 to qualify for Drake, was the clear favorite in the race.

“Austin Long, Blake Davis, Jesse Alexander and Jordan Velasquez then did the extraordinary,” coach

Robert Schmidt said.

The quartet then ran a 3:28.77 to take the championship by 48 hundredths of a second over Kennedy.

Following the 200-meter legs by junior Austin Long and senior Blake Davis, and junior Jesse Alexander’s 400-meter leg, Velasquez carded a 1-minute 53-second 800-meter split to finish the race.

“We wanted to win the distance medley and didn’t expect to break our schools’ record. When we broke it, it felt pretty good,” junior Austin Long said.

Taking first in the distance medley along with breaking the school’s record, the Tigers had a lot to be proud of.

“Drake for us started off good, but didn’t end well. Even though we didn’t do so well in the other relays, we still will be remembered for the distance medley,” Long said.

Apart from the distance medley relay, the men didn’t have much success.

One factor was the loss of junior Jacob Tayloe, a runner in the 4x800 meter relay and a qualifier in the 1600 meter run, who had strained his hamstring the Wednesday before Drake.

“It affected us a great deal,” Schmidt said.

The team did not qualify for finals in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400meter relay. They did place 15th in the 4x800 meter relay, though.

“After our medley win, we did not perform up to our capabilities,” Schmidt said.

Overall, the Tiger men will look forward to qualifying for the State meet.

“Drake was an eye opener for State. We are going to have different people run some of the relays for State,” Long said.

Coach Schmidt shares the same mindset as his athletes.

“We will be ready to go at State,” Schmidt said.

The lady Tigers had mixed

success at Drake. The 4x800 meter relay placed 9th overall in a time of 9:49, a good nine seconds faster than their best time this year. The squad is made up of senior Paige Hersom, sophomore Cara Strike, and freshmen Monica Anton and Hannah Savage.

“Coach (Don) Williams has done an excellent job in preparing our distance program, and I certainly believe that the best is yet to come at Districts and State,” assistant coach Dirk Homewood said of the 4x800 meter relay effort.

Besides the 4x800 meter relay, the women qualified the 4x100 meter relay into Drake. Unfortunately, the squad did not qualify for finals after winning the event last year.

Homewood said he was proud of the effort exerted by the team at Drake.

“This shows the character and commitment they have put toward improving and representng Cedar Falls.”

“The Sun Always Shines Down Under”

Student Intro Special

20 points for $20 (Student ID Required)

Expires 05/15/09. Tax included, not valid with any other offer. Limit one per person.

6322 University Ave, Cedar Falls 268- 2031 and 275 E. San Marnan Dr., Waterloo 232-4554

OIL CHANGE and LUBE OIL FILTER (up to 6 quarts, synthetic is extra)

$21.95

Expires 05/15/09

6283 University Ave Cedar Falls (319)-277-6200

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Athlete Week of the

Blake Davis Men’s Track Senior

Senior Blake Davis participated in Drake and State with placing fifth at Drake last year for the 4x200 meter relay.

1. What do you enjoy most about when track season starts?

Getting outside and the warmer weather.

2. How do you prepare before races? Any social routine?

Warm up with my teammates and focus on how I’m going to run.

3. Who do you look up to? Who and why?

Coach Geopfort, because he owns seven businesses and still finds time to coach us.

5. Do you have any memorable memories in track?

Running at both Drake and State and hanging out with my track buddies.

Tigers in Action Men’s Track Won the Distance Med at Drake Next: Big 8 Classic 5/1 (4:30 p.m. @ Ft. Dodge) Women’s Track Placed 9th in the 4x800 meter relay Next: Big 8 Classic 4/30 (5 p.m. @ Home) Men’s Soccer Lost to Iowa City West Won at Waverly Next: Dub. Wahlert 4/28 (4:15p.m. @ Away) Women’s Soccer Next: Iowa City West 4/23 (4:15 p.m. @ Iowa City West) Men’s Tennis Next: Waterloo West (4:30 pm @ Away) Women’s Tennis Next: Waterloo West (4 pm @ Away) Waterloo East (4 p.m. @ Home) Women’s Golf Lost to Grundy Center Next: Metro Meet (2:30 p.m. @ Away)

Pre-Prom Mayhem

“When Jake & I were in Cancun over Spring Break, he asked me. It was our last night in Cancun, & he took me out on the gazebo that overlooked the ocean, & when we went out, the security guard turned on the lights, so it was like all dark outside but the gazebo was lit up. It was way cute!”

—Ashley Neelans (’09)

“When I got off work, there was a note taped to my car window with a sewing needle taped to it, & it said ‘Keep this. You'll need it when you get home.’ So I get home & there's a sign on my door that says pop them all & you'll see why. I open my door & there's over 50 balloons in my room.

I start popping them, & there's little notes in them saying cute random stuff. Finally I got to one that said ‘Will you go to prom with me?’ Then Shane ran into my room — he had been hiding in my bathroom.”

—Sydney Good (’09)

MostAdorable Prom

Proposals

“I got asked to prom

by Connor Brooks (a.k.a. Buddah), & he called me & told me to come outside & 'prom?' was written out in little candles on my front step & then he came around the corner to ask me. It was adorable.”

—Sarah Kress (’11)

“One afternoon, during 7th hour release, I was getting my books out of my locker. I found a note lying at the bottom of my locker that said to meet this "mystery person" at Pfeiffer Park at 3:30, walk to the bench with the red balloon tied to it, & walk around the circle of Hershey Kisses three times. So I go to Pfeiffer, following all directions, & at the bench with the red balloon was a circle of Hershey Kisses on the ground & a note in the center. I opened the note, & inside it said "Now that I've kissed the ground you walk on, will you go to prom with me?" I urgently looked around the park, & out pops Brendan Wood from the top of the slide. He just shrugged, as if to ask what my answer was, & of course I said yes ... along with dang kid, you're good!”

—Brianna Glenn (’09)

T H g

i r

iLi e

April 28, 2009

the

“Spencer Mowatt set up a scavenger hunt in my house while I was out of town. He left little notes with a rose with each one throughout my house & finally led me to the final thing, which was candles lit in the bathroom on one of those circle mirrors & a note that said I was date your for Valentine’s Day, now will you be mine for prom?”

—Manda Colbert (’09)

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Cap r d tu

“I was asked to prom by Connor Beinfang. He came up to my doorstep on a Monday night. I opened the door, & he was holding a sign. The sign read: Roses are red, violets are blue, I like your butt, do you like mine too? & he turned around, & on the "butt" of his jeans it said prom in stickers!”

—Chelsea Steil (’10)

Saturday, May 2nd tickets: $15 pictures begin at 8 p.m. dancing begins at 9 p.m. post-prom: $5 “I choose to make my own dress every year because I love the uniqueness of it, & the fact that I can make it exactly how I want it. The price is also always a perk.

I think I spent around $30 on my whole outfit­—shoes, jewelry, dress & everything.

Most people spend that on just one aspect of it.”

—Ellen Wrede (’09)