Post-Prom Reminder
Tiger Hi-Line The
Volume 48 Edition 26
All juniors, seniors and their guests are invited to the 2008 Post-Prom Party from midnight to 3 a.m. on May 11 at Orchard Hill Church, Cedar Falls. Tickets will be sold at school May 6-9 and at the door for $5 each. Students will take home hundreds of prizes from the black jack and roulette tables, carnival games and sports contests at the event. Pizzas, subs, soda, coffee and baked goods donated by junior class parents will be served all night. The evening tops off with a hypnotist show, starting at about 2 a.m. Casino Royale is the party’s theme this year. Post prom is an alcohol and substance-free event. Students are welcomed at the postprom party whether or not they attend prom. Advance ticket sales are planned for May 6-9. Get tickets in the auditorium entrance lobby before school or during any lunch shift http://hi-lineonline.shorturl.com 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 in the cafeteria.
Condon scores high school’s second perfect ACT this year Jillian Dally Staff Writer
Sam Condon, a CFHS junior, got a 36 on his ACT’s, the second for Cedar Falls. “I was really surprised. Once I finished I thought I did really bad at math. It was a great feeling to get a semi-perfect Sam Condon score,” Condon said. Guidance counselor Susan Langan was surprised by the scores; however, she thinks it is “amazing.” “I was shocked. The odds of having one is good; then to have two is incredible. I think it’s good for them to get places,” Langan said. Earlier this month, junior Michael Miller also learned that he had received a 36, as was reported earlier in the Hi-Line. No teachers on staff can remember a student, or two, getting perfects on their ACT’s. “In the last 14 years I have been here, I can’t remember a 36. Let alone two of them,” Langan said. According to Langan and the ACT headquarters, the best preparation someone can have is to have a rigorous schedule. Langan also stated
that the prep class is good for students, and there are web practice tests people can buy. “I think my schedule did help. I like a challenge; it keeps me from getting bored. Some of the stuff actually does show up on the ACT’s I took,” Condon said. Condon stated that taking the practice tests and catching up on “general” skills was all he needed. “Just expect a lot of tediousness, it’s four hours long. Take a lot of practice tests, and take the prep course if you need it,” Condon said. “We have many talented students. About half of all our students are above a 3.0 GPA. That is not common in many schools. We are very fortunate to have so many families that strongly support their children and the school,” Principal Dr. Rich Powers said. Condon stated that it’s a “great feeling” to get a perfect score, and that a lot of students could do it if they put in the “time and effort.” For Powers, the two test results are one of the many indicators of success at Cedar Falls High School. “A test is a test and life is life. I think the real measure of a school and community is not displayed until years after the fact. How are all students doing? If we use that measure, Cedar Falls as a community has been very successful for a very long time,” Powers said. Condon plans to go on to a four-year degree in college and then become a lawyer.
Resource class to host flower sale Jillian Dally Staff Writer
The students in resource teacher Tammy Frahm’s class will be selling flowers on May 9 – 10 to fund their end of the year field trip. They are selling anything from perennials to annuals. The cost will range from 10 cents to $5. “We started this project at the beginning of September. Some flowers take that long to grow. It is a whole year process,” Frahm said. This project was designed to help the students fund their end of the year trip, but it also helps them develop skills they need for everyday life. “This teaches them responsibility. They all get to work together towards a common goal, one they can actually watch themselves achieve,” teacher helper Marcia Mercurio said. “It also helps them with budgeting, counting and giving change and social skills with customers,” Frahm said.
The students had to learn every aspect of gardening. From planting, to watering and things like transferring flowers. “I helped put the dirt in the pots, water and I helped move the plants. I don’t think the gardening project is too much work,” sophomore Anna Wheleer said. According to Frahm this is a “great learning experience and fun”. “I learned how to take care of plants, I like it. It’s fun, but I also want the money so we can go on our field trip,” junior Tyler Nelson said. Flowers will be on sale May 8 from 3 to 4:30, and May 9 from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. “This is a great opportunity for students to buy flowers for their mothers, since Mother’s Day is right around the corner,” Mercurio said. Posters will be posted around the school. For more detailed information contact Frahm.
‘A Convenient Truth’ Some CFHS science teachers doubt human influence on global warming Vincent Stigliani Staff Writer
The idea that humans are causing the earth’s temperature to rise is becoming a less and less controversial and debated issue. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently came out with a report conducted by thousands of scientists from over 130 countries that states that there is over a 90 percent chance that humans are causing global warming. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for their work on climate change. It has been a main focus of the United Nations, and a once skeptical Bush administration now recognizes global warming as a pressing issue. It has also been one of the few issues that all three presidential candidate frontrunners can agree upon. There is no scientific body of comparable magnitude that has concluded that humans are not causing climate change, although there are a number of skeptical scientists who periodically publish papers claiming the current warming trend is due to natural causes. As a consequence of these differing views, public opinions are currently split among those that believe, and those that don’t believe or are unsure about the human causes of climate change. These divergent views are reflected in the opinions of the CFHS science teachers. A small sample of the CFHS science department showed that two teachers believe human actions cause global warming, one teacher is not sure and two teachers are not convinced. “I don’t think humans are causing global warming,” CFHS science teacher Debbie Paulsen
said. “The earth itself has gone through many patterns of heating and cooling throughout history, so it stands to reason, of course,” she said. Paulsen said that there have been humans on the earth previously, and that even when there are no humans on the earth, the temperature rises. “So why us, why now? We don’t have any evidence of that (global warming),” Paulsen said. The debate has gotten past whether the earth is warming or not, but critics still say there is no link between temperature and human actions. “We all agree the earth is warming up; no one is going to argue with that,” CFHS science teacher Jason Steffen said. “We don’t, in my opinion, really have enough data to conclusively say that man is changing the global environment,” he said. Some feel that the debate has left the realms of science and is now also a political question. “Today global warming is a political issue, not a scientific issue. The two have unfortunately meshed together, and it’s hard for the public to figure out what’s politics and what’s science,” Steffen said. “I don’t know if they (politics and industrial interests) sway the findings; they sway the opinions of how you interpret data. It’s not a question of what they are finding; it is how you interpret data.” “It’s that whole potential of is there a government conspiracy. In this case, is there a big liberal conspiracy to hide data that says ‘No, we aren’t warming the atmosphere,’” Paulsen said. The issue of global warming is brought up in some of the CFHS science classes. “We talk about it in meteorology, of course. I will tell them that anything I say is mostly opinion based on what I have learned.
I’m not trying to persuade people one way or the other. I’m just trying to put things out there and say ‘OK, this is what I know. This is what I’ve been told. This is what you can see. Make your own conclusions,’” Steffen said. A difficult issue with global warming is the abundance of data that can be found to support both sides of the argument. “There’s a number of scientists out there, depending on your sources, that say ‘Yes, the atmosphere is warming up,’ or there’s a lot out there that say ‘No, it’s not,’ so it’s a really tough one to make a call on,” Paulsen said. “I have had a lot of environmental and earth science classes, mostly at UNI, but it’s one of those things where you have to look at the data and say ‘Where have we been, where are we going, what’s normal, what’s not,’” Steffen said. For some critics, only time can convince them. “It’s hard, for me to be convinced. It would have to be something that we wouldn’t see until we are all dead, because history itself is the best indicator,” Paulsen said. There are also CFHS science teachers on the other side of the fence. “I believe that there is a strong correlation between the warming of the earth and the burning of fossil fuels and the CO2 production,” CFHS science teacher Jeff Hartman said. “I can’t say beyond a doubt that humans are causing global warming, but I believe there is a strong correlation, and there is a good chance that they are.” Despite the opposing viewpoints, there was a general consensus that humans need to take better care of the environment. “Of course we are being harmful to the environment; there is no
Tiger Hi-Line The
OPIn n IO OPI IOnn
our view our view
Cambodia school project a long term commitment
After a year of fundraising, the CFHS chapter of Amnesty International mailed the check, filled out the paperwork and tied up the loose strings of the Cambodia Schools project. Funding for improvements to the school are always in order and will continue to be in order for the existence of the school, but the process of fundraising for the original school structure is officially complete. Though the idea to build an elementary school in Cambodia originated within the group of Amnesty International members last spring, this project has in no way been just an Amnesty project. The overwhelming support from nearly every student group at Cedar Falls High School made achieving the once seemingly daunting goal of raising $13,000 to build an elementary school and hire a teacher feasible in just over a year. The evidence of school-wide support of this initiative is apparent. On Saturday, May 3, the CFHS Student Senate is sponsoring “Kickin it 4 Cambodia,” a 5k run/walk that will begin at 8 a.m. at George Wyth. All proceeds from this event will go toward the Cambodia Schools Project. We, The Tiger Hi-Line editorial staff, have been very involved with the Cambodia Schools Project since Cedar Falls High School became dedicated to it last year. We firstly recognize the merit of such a worthy goal. Building an elementary school in Cambodia not only will help countless children receive an education that they otherwise would not have gotten, but it also helps to forge valuable ties in an increasingly globalized world. Secondly, we would like to acknowledge the remarkable unity of the CFHS student body for making this worthy goal a reality. Almost 1,200 students and hundreds of faculty have given to this goal. Everyone who helped organize an event, everyone who attended a fundraiser and everyone who bought something from a bake sale brought us a little closer to achieving our goal. Finally, we would like to acknowledge that our work is far from over. In order to maintain our school, we must contribute $2,000 annually. It is absolutely critical that we continue to support our school with as much fervor as we did at the beginning of the project so we can ensure that years and years of children can receive a quality education from the school initiative that started in Cedar Falls in 2007.
Write 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. Each edition is published on Wenesdays during the school year in The Insider and Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, 501 Commercial St., Waterloo, Iowa 50701. 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
Editor-in-Chief: Briana McGeough News Editors: Olivia Schares and Kellie Petersen Opinion Editor: Torie Jochims and Jacqueline Jordan Sports Editor: Jakob Zierer Feature Editors: Honor Heindl and Briana McGeough On-Line Editor: Ellen Wrede Entertainment Editor: Kristen Hammer
America’s silent killer
Trans fats threaten teen health, cause severe, unseen damage There is great controversy about why Americans are so unhealthy compared to the rest of the world, but one of the main reasons is obviously the food we eat. Specialists keep saying “watch what you eat” and “eat healthy,” but how are we supOmeed Kasheef posed Staff Writer to be healthy when foods these days have so many types of chemicals in them. One major ingredient to America’s obesity problem is hydrogenated oil. So many foods in grocery markets, fast foods and especially packaged food have this ingredient. Hydrogenated oil is a type of trans fat that was made to be healthier than conventional oils but was found to be
much worse, so, since it is not for taste or health, what is it for? It’s to keep foods on the shelves longer so business owners will gain bigger profits. Hydrogenated oil is linked with diabetes, obesity and coronary disease (heart disease) in a wide number of scientific studies. Coronary disease is actually the top overall leading cause of death, and diabetes is in the top 10. Strokes are ranked third, in relationship to cholestorol because hydrogenated oil also destroys HDL cholesterol, the type of cholesterol that is good for you, and it helps increase LDL cholesterol that clogs arteries. My brother and I had really high cholesterol at a young age. When I was 12 years old and my brother, nine, we had a check up at the doctor’s office. We went to get our blood drawn, and the results came up a few weeks later. My bad cholesterol was at 221, at age 12! My brother’s was also in the
two hundreds, which is scary when you are only 9 years old. After this, we learned about what ingredients to look for in foods and what to avoid. We have not bought anything with hydrogenated oil since then. Last time I got my cholesterol checked, it was at 160, which is an outstanding change and considered healthy. Right now 63 percent of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0, and obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year, which was reported by IHRSA/ ASD Obesity Weight Control Report. Coronary disease kills 685,089 people a year, and strokes cause 157,689 deaths a year. So now that you know hydrogenated oil is poisoning our bodies, do something about it. All it takes is a little skimming of words of the nutrition facts to save millions of American lives every year and to get rid of the shadowy reputation the world has of American’s health.
While the school year keeps on coasting towards the inevitable summer break, questions are being raised concerni n g some of the Cedar Falls H i g h School’s functions to ensure an ever-improving school Paul Strike system. Staff Writer The purpose of homeroom is one of the functions currently under fire. Occurring between second and
third hour at least one Wednesday every month, homeroom is a meeting of a group of students and a teacher where school–based decisions are introduced and talked about. Sometimes, it is just a time to talk about stuff going on in the world. As the school year has progressed, though, these homeroom meetings have become less and less frequent. These days are so scarce now that I don’t even see a need for them. Think about it. Student Senate, the CFHS student governing body, can make decisions that are otherwise decided by a mass homeroom vote. Picking a charity to give extra money to (something figured out one homeroom) is one thing that can be easily dealt with by Student Senate. Another purpose of homeroom is bringing students together to socialize and form friendships through various activities and discussions. This compo-
nent alone would not be a problem to cut loose because high schoolers don’t really need help socializing. Homeroom even has a side-effect – the school day’s schedule. It is revised so that each regular class is five minutes shorter, which throws off teachers from their daily routine. Yes, five minutes is a sizeable chunk out of a class period because it leaves a certain amount of material to be addressed the following day. Also, homework is usually assigned at the end of class, so homeroom essentially takes away homework. This point is of course just fine with students but is frowned upon by teachers. There is truly no need for homeroom. It gives students a little break once in a while, but its important functions are easy to install in school organizations. Homeroom would solve problems if it was discontinued next year.
Homeroom’s usefulness dwindles
Tiger Hi-Line The
SPORTS SPORTS
Getting three titles and 13 top-10 finishes,
Track teams place high at Drake Paul Strike
of the
Courtney Dreyer Sophomore Soccer Player
Staff Writer
The famed blue oval of Drake Stadium was home to thousands of athletes this last weekend as the 2008 Drake Relays showcased some of the best track athletes in Iowa. The threeday meet proved to be a tough trial for its participants with gusting winds every day, but the Tigers were up for the challenge their opponents and Mother Nature provided. Cedar Falls left their mark in Des Moines as the men and women combined for three titles and 13 top-10 finishes. The CF men started off on the right foot Thursday night with the 3,200 meter run. The distance duo of Alex Mark and Michael Streicher took 4th and 11th place respectively. Mark, running in his second Relays, learned from the previous experience and improved 17 spots from last year. “I knew the mile would go out smokin’ fast, and last year that kind of freaked me out,” Mark said, “so knowing that, my strategy was just to keep the leaders in view.” Mark ran a blazing 61-seconds for his last lap, passing six people in the process. “I told myself I was going to run this race like it was my last. I knew if I gave it my all, I would finish with no regrets,” Mark said. Faith Burt and the Cedar Falls women took off on Friday. Burt won her third 100 meter dash title at Drake with a time of 12.36 seconds. Burt also contributed to the 2nd place sprint medley relay, with Jacqueline Jordan, Kaelia Frazier and Shawn Shaddox also coming up big. “I knew that we had to race by time because we were in the slowest heat.” Jordan said. Corey Albrecht ran well Friday for the Tiger men, placing 7th in the 100 meter dash and anchoring the men’s 4X200 meter relay to 5th place. Drew Poland, Blake Davis and Jesse Alexander completed the relay. Albrecht and Poland, with the help of Austin Long and Jordan Velasquez, earned a 2nd place finish in the distance medley relay with a time of 3:31.31. “I’m glad we had some good competition, and there were a lot of good teammates there,” Poland said.
Athlete Week
2. Honor Heindl Photos
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1. In the last home meet, the women’s track team sharpens its skills before Drake Relays. 1. In the 100 meter, senior Faith Burt turned in a 12.0 before traveling to Drake. 2. In the distance medley are senior Shawn Shaddox and junior Natalie Reindl. Shaddox ran in the 4x400, 4x800, sprint medley and open 400 at Drake. Reindl was an alternate at Drake. 3. In the lead for hurdles at home is junior Amanda Hosper, who went to Drake in the shuttle hurdle, and on the left is freshman Kaitlyn Gillett, while on the right is Charla DeVries who ran the 4x100 at Drake. Saturday was a hugely successful day for both Tiger teams. The women’s 4X800 meter relay kicked things off by racing to a very good 6th place finish. The men’s 4X800 team followed that performance up with a 10th place finish. The Shuttle hurdle relay with, Molly Youde, Kaitlyn Gillet, Amanda Hosper and Nina Savage ran to a 3rd place finish in the shuttle hurdle relay. Shawn Shaddox then earned 7th place in the 400 meter hurdles. The Tiger women were not done yet. The girls earned their second win at the Drake Relays in the 4X100 meter relay. Teamed up with, Jordan, Frazier, Burt and Charla DeVries busted out with a
smoking 48.68 seconds to edge out 2nd place Waukee. The women finished their Drake Relays off with a 6th place finish in the 4X400 meter relay. The new combination of Savage, Frazier, Shaddox and Burt finished their multiple-event day well with an overall time of 4:04.51. “This was probably our best Drake Relays ever,” women’s track coach Troy Becker said. The men ended their Relays stay with their first and only win in the 4X400 meter relay. Long, Poland, Velasquez and Albrecht blew away the field by finishing a comfortable three seconds ahead of second-place St. Edmond.
The Tiger quartet took the lead for good when Poland sped past the fronthalf of the pack on the back straightaway and gave the baton to Velasquez with a decisive lead. “I knew I needed to be in first and get it to Velasquez with as much of a lead as I could,” Poland said. The win capped a terrific meet for both the men’s and women’s squads. “To place six times in the top six and four times in the top three is a tremendous accomplishment for our team,” Becker said. Both Tiger teams will be qualifying for the Iowa State Track Meet at the coed district meet held at the Cedar Falls High School on May 9.
Sophomore Courtney Dreyer is a starting forward on the varsity team. She scored a goal in the Tiger’s 3-1 win over Dubuque Senior. She’s played soccer since she was in first grade. 1.) What do you like the most about soccer? What I like the most about soccer is being able to be very competitive. You can be very competitive by knocking people around and being physical, but you can also have fun at the same time. 2.) What are you doing to get ready for a game? To get ready, I try to get really excited for the game. I listen to music with my teammates and try to get really pumped up. 3.) What is your goal for this season? My goal this season, and our team goal this season is to make it to State. I think we have all worked really hard already, and our record is much better than last year. I really think that we have a good chance of making it to State.
Tigers in Action
Women’s Track see story at left Next up: MVC Divisional 5/2 (IC City @ 5 p.m.) Men’s Track see story at left Next up: MVC Divisional 5/2 (Iowa City West @ 5 p.m.) Women’s Soccer 2-1 vs. Hempstead; 3-1 Senior Next up: Linn-Mar 5/1 (Linn Mar @ 4:15 p.m.) Men’s Soccer games postponed Next up: Linn-Mar 5/1 (Home @ 4:15 p.m.) Women’s Tennis Next up: C.R. Prairie 5/1 (C.R. Prairie @ 4:30 p.m.) Men’s Tennis Next up: C.R. Prairie 5/1 (Home @ 4:30 p.m.) Women’s Golf Next up: MVC Divisional 5/5 (D. Hempstead @ 2:30 p.m.) Trap Shooting Next up: CF Invitational 5/15 (CF Gun Club @ 4 p.m.)
Tiger Hi-Line
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